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Campaign against palm oil deeply embedded in EU, says minister
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Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution (center), accompanied by Peter F. Gontha, Foreign Ministry expert (left), speaks during a press conference at his office on April 12 following his visit to Brussels to meet European Union representatives on the palm oil issue. (Courtesy of/Coordinating Economic Ministry)
T
he diplomatic effort to counter the negative campaign against Indonesia’s palm oil in the European Union is proving to be much harder than expected, said a senior minister who has returned from a diplomatic mission to end misconceptions about the product.
The massive campaign against the use of palm oil in Europe has derived from a misunderstanding among Europeans that the commodity damages the environment, thus preventing Indonesia and other palm oil-producing countries from getting a fair hearing, Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said.
Earlier this month, Darmin co-led a joint mission with delegations from Indonesia, Malaysia and Colombia to the EU to discuss the latter’s policy that could effectively ban palm oil use in the bloc by 2030.
“However, from our numerous discussions with representatives of the EU, we found that their understanding of palm oil [farming] is a far cry from reality,” Darmin told a recent press conference. “Not only do such bad perceptions [about palm oil] already exist among lawmakers, they also exist among citizens.”
