FILE PHOTO: Workers load palm oil fresh fruit bunches to be transported from the collector site to CPO factories in Pekanbaru, Riau province, Indonesia, April 27, 2022. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo/File Photo
Indonesia and Malaysia, the world’s biggest palm oil producers, plan to send representatives to the European Union. This is to discuss the impact of the new deforestation law, inflicting on the palm oil industry, ministers from the Southeast Asian countries said on Thursday, February 9.
EU agreed on a deforestation law back in December. The law requires companies to produce a statement showing when and where their products were produced and provided.
The regulation has been welcomed by environmentalists as an important step to protect forests. Deforestation is responsible for about 10% of global CO2 emissions.
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, met with Malaysia’s Commodities Minister Fadillah Yusof on Thusrday, to discuss the matter.
“We agreed to carry out a joint mission to the EU to prevent unintended consequences on the palm oil sector,” Airlangga told reporters.
Indonesia and Malaysia have accused the EU of implementing discriminatory policies targeting the palm oil industry.
EU diplomats have denied the accusation and said, that the law applies equally to products produced anywhere.
EU itself is the third-largest palm oil market for both countries.
Malaysia said last month it could stop exporting palm oil to the EU in response to the deforestation law. According to Airlangga, the issue of an export boycott was not brought up at the meeting.
Source: nasdaq.com
One Comment on “Indonesia and Malaysia send envoys to EU over deforestation law”