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RI, Malaysia seeks to soften EU palm oil stance
Indonesia and Malaysia joined hands to meet with EU representatives in Brussels on May 30 and 31. hoping to soften the bloc's regulations on palm oil in the upcoming deforestation law.
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Fraught fruit: A farmer harvests oil palm fruit at a plantation in Kuta Makmur, Aceh, on May 23, 2022. Crude palm oil trade will be affected by the upcoming European Union Deforestation Regulation. (AFP/Azwar Ipank)
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ndonesia and Malaysia, the world’s two largest palm oil producers, are in negotiations with their European Union (EU) counterparts, hoping the bloc will refrain from implementing stringent measures that may hammer the palm oil industry in its upcoming deforestation law.
Officials from the two countries met with leaders of the EU Commission and Parliament on May 30 and 31 to negotiate the terms of upcoming legislation called the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which will tighten rules on trading commodities associated with deforestation.
The talks were led by Indonesian Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto and Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and Plantation and Commodities Minister Dato’ Sri Haji Fadillah Bin Haji Yusof.
Both are pursuing to resolve several issues, namely smallholders in the supply chain, acceptance of the national sustainable certification schemes, the law’s benchmarking system, geolocation, as well as land legality and traceability, according to the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC).
“The EUDR will likely narrow smallholder farmers’ access to the EU market due to difficulties in fulfilling the requirements of proof of land legality and the geographical location of their plantations,” the Office of the Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Read also: Major firms not doing enough to curb deforestation: Report
The office said Indonesia’s palm oil exports to the EU had declined to 5.3 million tonnes last year, down from 7 million tonnes in 2019. Similarly, the share of the world’s palm oil exports to the EU shrank to just 10.2 percent last year, down from 17 percent over the past five years.
