NETHERLANDS ASSURES CONTINUOUS SUPPORT
Country largest importer of commodity in Europe, says its foreign minister
THE Netherlands will continue to support the production and consumption of sustainable palm oil from Malaysia, said its foreign minister Stef Blok.
He said the country was indeed the largest importer of Malaysian palm oil in Europe and a staunch believer in open markets.
“We will oppose any ban or discriminatory measure,” said Blok, when asked if the country supported
the European Union’s ban on Malaysian palm oil exports.
However, he explained that the Delegated Act to the Renewable Energy Directive of the European Union was not a ban on palm oil.
“The idea behind it is to introduce sustainability criteria for the use of biofuels. This means the use of palm oil that does not meet this criteria will be phased out of the biofuel mix in the coming years,” he said.
He said this did not have any implication on palm oil used as food, which was still a growth market in Europe.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed and Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok have been vocal on the EU palm oil policy.
The policy has drawn criticism, with Malaysia and Indonesia considering retaliation.
Malaysia said it would boycott EU goods if the bloc went ahead with its plan to restrict palm oil.
According to a Reuters report the European Commission (EC) concluded that palm oil use in transport fuels could not be counted towards its renewable energy goals.
A delegation led by Kok will be visiting key European countries next month to sway the EC from discriminating palm oil against biodiesel.