GHANA MAY JOIN FIGHT AGAINST ANTI-PALM OIL CAMPAIGN
PUTRAJAYA: Ghana may be the next country to join Malaysia and Indonesia to counter the negative perception towards the palm oil industry.
Deputy Primary Industries Minister Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin said Ghana had shown interest in cooperating in the fight against the European Union’s (EU) anti-palm oil campaign.
“We have discussed with Ghana on the need to defend the palm oil industry against the negative perception, especially in the EU,” he said after the launch of the 38th Palm Oil Familiarisation Programme yesterday.
He said the ministry would venture into more international markets to sell palm oil and approach Ethiopia and North African countries to expand the palm oil market.
Shamsul added that the ministry would also sign an agreement to sell palm oil to China.
Earlier, Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok said: “We have always been committed to maintaining at least 50 per cent of our land under forest and green cover. In fact, Malaysia is relentless in taking steps to ensure mandatory nationwide production of certified sustainable palm oil through the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil certification by end of next year.”
The text of the speech was read by Shamsul.
About 70 participants from 20 countries attended the one-week programme organised by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board.