Wednesday Oct 29, 2025
Wednesday Oct 29, 2025
Wednesday, 29 October 2025 04:35 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Ministry of Plantations has launched a national program to survey and map all smallholder rubber lands across Sri Lanka in 2025, with technical support from the Survey Department, to meet new European Union deforestation-free regulations.
In a statement, the Ministry said the initiative will record the geographic coordinates of every smallholder rubber plot and issue a QR code to each landowner upon completion.
Exporters of rubber and rubber-based products to the European Union will be required to present these QR codes at the time of export to verify that their products are sourced from lands not linked to deforestation.
The move comes in response to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which prohibits the import and export of goods produced from deforested land. Under the new framework, all rubber and related products entering the European market must be certified as deforestation-free.
According to the Ministry, failure to provide the required QR code could result in restrictions on exports, while registered landowners could benefit from higher prices for verified, deforestation-free products.
Officials from the Ministry of Plantations and the Survey Department will visit smallholder estates to collect land data. The Ministry has requested cultivators to cooperate by keeping relevant documents ready, including their rubber planting permit, land ownership papers, land plan, and national identity card.
The Ministry noted that the program aims to ensure Sri Lanka’s compliance with evolving international trade standards and to safeguard the competitiveness of its rubber exports in key markets.
