TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Govt asks EU to ease Indonesia palm oil import regulations

Indonesia, the world’s largest producer of palm oil, has asked the European Union to ease the group’s regulations on palm oil imports, mainly to help Indonesian farmers benefit from the commodity’s export

Hasyim Widhiarto (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, November 20, 2014

Share This Article

Change Size

Govt asks EU to ease Indonesia palm oil import regulations

I

ndonesia, the world'€™s largest producer of palm oil, has asked the European Union to ease the group'€™s regulations on palm oil imports, mainly to help Indonesian farmers benefit from the commodity'€™s export.

In a meeting with the European Council president, Herman van Rompuy, on Wednesday at the State Palace, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo personally asked the EU'€™s principal representative to ease the barriers to palm oil products in the union.

'€œWe have asked him to help us solve this problem,'€ Jokowi told reporters after his 30-minute closed-door meeting with the former Belgian prime minister.

'€œOil palm plantations belong not only to big companies. Forty five percent belong to farmers, so it is necessary to find a solution.'€

Palm oil is the second-top contributor to total exports in Indonesia, after coal. It contributed US$19.22 billion, or 10.53 percent, to the country'€™s total exports of $182.57 billion last year.

The Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (Gapki) recently said that Indonesia had produced an estimated 31.5 million tons of crude palm oil (CPO) this year, with 9 million tons absorbed by the domestic market and the remainder shipped overseas.

Indonesia'€™s largest market for CPO is India, accounting for 20 percent of total exports, followed by the EU countries at 19 percent and China at 15 percent.

The Indonesian Palm Oil Board (DMSI) said recently there had been a strong campaign in Europe to reduce the consumption of palm oil, which was deemed unhealthy for its high saturated fat content, and blamed for deforestation and bad environmental practices seen in plantations across the archipelago.

The anti-palm oil sentiment is already evident, especially in France where some food manufacturers already put a '€œno palm oil'€ label on their products.

Indonesia, the world'€™s largest producer of palm oil, the raw material used for biodiesel, has also attracted recurring accusations from its trading partners, including the EU, about its palm oil derivatives.

Von Rompuy said that he would take Indonesia'€™s request as '€œthe council'€™s concern'€, according to Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, who accompanied Jokowi during the meeting.

The EU is Indonesia'€™s third largest trading partner and the second largest foreign investor after Japan.

In his written statement, Van Rompuy said there was still '€œvast untapped potential'€ for economic relations between the EU and its Southeast Asian partner.

'€œThe EU looks forward to engaging with the new Indonesian government in negotiations on an ambitious Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. This would give a boost to bilateral trade and investment and create prosperity and jobs in both Indonesia and the EU,'€ he said.

Van Rompuy also applauded Indonesia'€™s commitment to the settlement of international conflicts through peaceful means.

'€œIn this context, I underlined the need to achieve a lasting ceasefire in Ukraine with full implantation [especially by Russia] of the Minsk agreements, as well as the need to step up international efforts to prevent the spread of extremism and terrorism,'€ he said.

'€œIndonesia is playing an important role on both fronts. It has supported Ukraine'€™s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It has also clearly condemned the barbaric acts committed in Syria and Iraq under the false invocation of Islam.'€

Van Rompuy, who took office in 2009, will step down from his current position by the end of this month. He will be succeeded by former Polish prime minister Donald Tusk.

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.