Indonesia and Malaysia agreed to oppose European Union (EU) deforestation regulations next week. This is because EU deforestation regulations have harmed oil palm smallholders in both Indonesia and Malaysia.
According to Nikkei Asia, the European Union Anti-Deforestation Rules (EUDR) were introduced last year to prevent the EU from selling palm oil, soy, coffee, cocoa, rubber, timber and beef grown on land deforested from 2020.
Under the new regulation, all companies involved in trading this product and its derivatives must comply with strict due diligence requirements when exporting or selling within the EU. The requirements include providing traceability and geolocation information.
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EU officials previously said the regulation would not affect palm oil produced by smallholders under Felda, Malaysia’s state-owned palm oil producer, given that since 1990 the company had not cleared forest to make way for new plantations.
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof, who is also Malaysia’s Minister of Plantations and Commodities, said last week that smallholder farmers in both Indonesia and Malaysia depend on exports of palm oil, rubber and other agricultural commodities.
Fadillah made this statement on May 17 in a joint press conference after the 11th Ministerial Meeting of the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) in Kuala Lumpur. During the meeting, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy of Indonesia, Airlangga Hartarto, was also present.
The Malaysian-Indonesian delegation is expected to present its case to the European Commission. Fadillah and Hartarto will then meet with Frans Timmermans, Vice President of the European Commission, and Virginijus Sinkevicius, EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.
In emphasizing the nature of this important mission for both Indonesia and Malaysia, Fadillah said that Indonesia and Malaysia needed a regulation to be used as a guideline when Europe claimed that the European Anti-Deforestation Law had no effect on small farmers.
Source: ekonomi.bisnis.com
