Nairobi, Aug. 11 -- For much of the past two years, debate around the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) has focused on risks. Exporters worry about rising compliance costs. Cooperatives fear the burden of collecting geolocation data from thousands of smallholder farmers. Policymakers question whether the regulation shifts the cost of environmental protection onto producing countries.

These concerns are legitimate. Yet they risk overlooking a bigger reality: EUDR is reshaping the rules of global agricultural trade. For Africa, that presents an opportunity as much as a challenge.

The regulation, which covers seven commodities including coffee, cocoa and palm oil, requires companies placing products on the EU market to demonst...