PLANTATION Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin has slammed the numerous anti-palm oil campaigns initiated by Western countries, which she said had affected the marketability of palm oil and its related products in the Malaysian and Indonesian markets.
She said that the smearing campaign, which created negative perceptions towards palm oil, can affect the competitiveness of Malaysian palm oil exports in the long haul if not systematically and strategically put to rest.
“As palm oil and its related products have been a major revenue contributor to the country’s economy as well as having played a significant role in reducing rural poverty and improving infrastructure, Malaysia has resorted to counter such malicious/baseless claims via a ‘soft consultancy’ approach,” she explained.
“Historically, the negative image of palm oil started taking shape in Europe beginning in 2003, revolving around issues pertaining to sustainability before moving to the nutritional aspects of palm oil.
“The current practice of ‘no palm oil’ or ‘palm oil-free’ labelling in France and Belgium can be traced back to 2008 when the French retail chain Carrefour started to substitute palm oil in potato chips with sunflower oil.”
Zuraida said that the singling out of palm oil with the ‘palm oil-free’ marketing and labelling campaigns had convinced consumers that palm oil is “terrible whether for nutritional or environmental reasons – or both”.
“Recall that in 2019, the European Union (EU) has classified palm oil as a crop with a high-risk rate towards indirect land-use change, hence deemed to contribute to deforestation and loss of biodiversity,” she noted.
“EU member countries are currently adopting the European Union Renewable Energy Directive II in their respective legislation.”
Zuraida pointed out that such a classification exercise will affect palm oil’s potential as a biofuel source since its usage will be gradually reduced starting from 2023 before being “eliminated completely” as an EU biofuel source in 2030.
“This has led to Malaysia initiating legal action against the EU and two of its members – France and Lithuania – on Jan 15, 2021 under the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Dispute Settlement Mechanism,” she elaborated.
“Such development came about after the EU implemented the directive without considering Malaysia’s commitment and views, even after the latter had given its feedback and sent economic and technical missions to Europe.”
According to the Ampang MP, Malaysia will also act as a third party in a separate WTO case lodged by Indonesia – the world’s biggest palm oil producer – as a sign of solidarity and support.
“In all fairness, Malaysia is left with no choice but to retaliate against the ‘bullies’ even as it understands that the ensuing legal process can be dragging and costly,” she remarked.
“This is given that the process entails massive preparation and submission of documents for argument as well as meticulous research and countless hours of meeting and deliberation by the panel tasked to look into the matter.”
While the EU has not imposed any other restrictions against palm oil, Zuraida noted that the fact remains that “medium- to long-term damage has already been inflicted on palm oil’s image in the eyes of European consumers”.
“In this regard, the Plantation Industry and Commodities Ministry will continue to closely monitor any latest developments from a legislation standpoint by the EU, which can potentially tarnish the reputation of palm oil, hence adversely affecting the viability of the palm oil and palm oil-related industry in Malaysia,” she said. – June 22, 2022
