Legality and Deforestation Risk in Ecuadorian Cocoa: An EUDR Due-Diligence Brief for EU Importers

Ecuadorian cocoa can meet the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), but only if importers check legality as carefully as deforestation. This brief maps Ecuador’s relevant legislation to the eight legality areas of EUDR Article 2(40), identifies the main risks (concentrated deforestation, informal land tenure, patchy tax registration, and conflicting forest maps), and provides a due-diligence checklist for EU importers. Ecuador is classified as standard risk, so full due diligence applies from 30 December 2026 for large and medium operators and from 30 June 2027 for micro and small operators.