Mah led special mission to eu for palm oil issues

KUALA LUMPUR: The Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong, led a special Palm Oil Mission to the European Parliament in Strasbourg from June 12 to 13.

The main objective of this two-day mission was to discuss with European Union (EU) Commissioners and EU Members of Parliament (MEPs) regarding the EU Resolution on Palm Oil and Deforestation of April 4, 2017.

During this special mission, Mah engaged in 4 bilateral discussions with influential Members of European Parliament, including the EU Commissioner of Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella and chairman of Industry, Research and Energy Committee, MEP Jerzy Buzek.

In addition, Mah also engaged with MEP Syed Kamall and Antonio Lopez-Isturiz White to seek their opinion and support regarding next steps to be initiated by Malaysian palm oil.

The bilateral meetings focused on the European Commission's proposed follow up actions arising from the adoption of the European Parliament Resolution on Palm Oil and Deforestation of Rainforests on April 4, 2017.

During the bilateral meetings, Mah explained Malaysia's position, national policies and various actions adopted throughout the industry to ensure Malaysia will remain the world leader in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in relation to the oil palm industry.

The MEPs were also enlightened on Malaysia's continued commitment to sustainable oil palm cultivation, particularly through the recent decision by the Malaysian Government to make it mandatory that the Malaysian palm oil producers and processors adopt the Malaysia Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification.

It was pointed out that this was targeted to be achieved by the end of 2019.

The EU Commissioner and MEPs welcomed this effort from Malaysia and were highly appreciative of the readiness of Malaysia to prescribe to such a high sustainability goal throughout the industry.

Mah described the enthusiasm shown by the MEPs to Malaysian palm oil sustainability practices as a great opportunity for Malaysia, while acknowledging the need to communicate these positive efforts and outcomes especially to palm oil end users and consumers.

Currently appreciation of Malaysia's role in driving the sustainability agenda is little known outside the palm oil industry circles.

In addition to the meeting held in EU Parliament, the minister also convened three roundtable discussions with different palm oil stakeholders in Europe, including European Palm Oil Alliance (EPOA), European Sustainable Palm Oil Advocacy Group (ESPOAG) and the International Sustainability and Carbon Certificate (ISCC).

All these parties similarly pledged to further enhance their close cooperation with Malaysian palm oil and will continue to support Malaysia's efforts in Europe.

The EU is a major export destination for Malaysia palm products.

In 2016, exports of palm oil products to the EU was valued at RM10.26 billion.

Major palm-based products exported includes palm oil valued at RM5.19 billion and oleochemicals at RM3.11 billion.

For the period January to March 2017, exports of palm oil products to the EU was valued RM2.78 billion, an increase of 27.3 per cent compared to the same period in 2016. — Bernama