‘Spain against EU resolution’
KUALA LUMPUR: Spain has made clear its opposition to the European Union (EU) resolution that discriminates against Malaysian palm oil, said Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong.
“The Spanish government’s stand is that adaptation of this resolution would have a devastating impact on the biodiesel industry in Spain and it is also in line with the free-trade law of the World Trade Organisation,” he said in a statement issued in Madrid.
Spain’s official stand on the issue was expressed during three bilateral meetings with secretary of state of Energy Ministry Danial Navia Simon, secretary of state of International Trade Ministry Maria Poncela Garcia and Undersecretary of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment Ministry Jaimie Haddad.
Mah said Malaysia opposed the resolution as it discriminated against palm oil from other vegetable oils while the resolution would undermine sources of income and suppress 650,000 palm oil smallholders in Malaysia.
He welcomed the Spanish government’s commitment and said if the ban became EU legislation, any alternative substitution for palm oil would result in higher costs.
“The high cost increase would ultimately be borne by consumers and result in high losses to Spanish biodiesel industry players,” Mah added.
Spain consumes 70 per cent of palm-based biofuel feedstock, the largest in the EU. It is also the second-largest palm importer after the Netherlands with an annual value of nearly RM1 billion.
Mah also met with Spanish palm oil importers who were ready to cooperate with Malaysia to address the negative perception among consumers.