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Malaysia seeks intense cooperation with Indonesia on EU palm oil dispute
Malaysia hopes to deepen cooperation with Indonesia to fight “discrimination” against palm oil stemming from the EU's deforestation law.
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Malaysia's International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz speaks during an interview with The Jakarta Post in Jakarta on Monday. (Malaysia International Trade and Industry Ministry/-)
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alaysia says it seeks to deepen cooperation with Indonesia to fight “discrimination” against palm oil, as the two largest producing countries continue to engage in the best way to resolve the threat from European Union’s deforestation law to the commodity.
The EU will require firms to certify imported goods as deforestation-free starting in 2024, albeit applying to deforestation that happened after December 2020. On top of palm oil, the rule is expected to affect other imported goods such as cattle, soy, coffee, cocoa, timber and rubber.
The rule is correlated with larger efforts from the EU to phase out palm oil-based fuels by 2030 because of perceived links to deforestation.
“We engage the EU, but what’s important is that Indonesia and Malaysia continue to work together on this. Once we’re not together, it’s going to be a problem. We must work together when it comes to issues surrounding the palm oil industry,” Malaysia’s International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Read also: Indonesia and Malaysia agree to fight "discrimination" against palm oil
Zafrul went on to say that Malaysia was closely communicating with Indonesia to ensure the establishment of a pathway to sustainability as well as continuing dialogue with the EU counterparts.
As such, Malaysia and Indonesia will engage the EU counterparts in May to discuss the standards and practices in the palm oil industry, including the environment and human rights conditions on the ground, he added.
