Strategy to fight anti-palm oil lobby with Indonesia will put pressure on EU

BANGI: The strategic cooperation with Indonesia to fight the anti-palm oil lobby will be able to put pressure on the European Union (EU), said Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) director-general Datuk Dr Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir.

He said the move may be one option that the world's two biggest palm oil producers could undertake to fight the discrimination by the EU on palm oil following the new rules on deforestation by the trade bloc.

"Both countries through the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) will find ways to put pressure on the EU so that the bloc does not arbitrarily bully Malaysia and Indonesia.

"If we feel the approach is strategic and helpful, I believe we should continue it with Indonesia so that both countries are not randomly pressured with new rules which put aside and ignore palm.

"When we are united and make a decision not to supply palm oil to them, then it will make some impact and put pressure on them so that they are more rational and fair," he said to reporters when met at the CEO Day@UKM event today.

Recently, Deputy Prime Minister and Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said Malaysia may stop the exports of palm oil to EU and wants to focus on other countries.

Hence, Fadillah will leave for Indonesia by February to meet his counterpart and other stakeholders to strategise and strengthen efforts to fight the negativity surrounding the commodity.

Fadillah's visit to the republic is likely seen as a follow-up to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's recent meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

During that visit, both leaders agreed to work together to fight the "discrimination" against the commodity.

Indonesia and Malaysia contribute almost 80 per cent of the global palm oil production.

Europe is the third largest importer of Malaysian palm oil, which accounts for 9.0 per cent of total exports.

According to the proposed deforestation regulations, commodities such as palm oil which were grown or raised on land that was subjected to deforestation or forest degradation will be banned from entering the EU market after the regulations are passed in the European Parliament.

-- BERNAMA