‘EU using environmental sustainability as excuse to ban palm oil’
KUALA LUMPUR: Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong says the European Union’s (EU) plan to restrict palm oil use in biodiesel was triggered by the industry’s success.
He said EU was using environmental sustainability as an excuse. In the past, he said, it had used health concerns to justify anti-palm oil measures.
“Back then, it was over health but that was proven wrong,” he said, referring to studies that showed palm oil did not contain cholesterol.
“The ‘attack’ now is in terms of environmental sustainability. This is protectionist.
“After the 2015 (Southeast Asian) haze, many European lawmakers became emotional and that made them target palm oil.
“The attacks are not due to our failure, but our success.”
Mah was answering a supplementary-question from M. Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) about whether the EU move was made in response to alleged destruction of the environment by the palm oil industry.
Mah said the EU move made sense in light of palm oil’s domination of the vegetable cooking oil market.
“(Back then) palm oil made up 10 per cent of the vegetable (cooking) oil market. Now, it is around 60 per cent. This shows that the growth in palm oil (trade) was due to our efforts.”
He said palm oil’s share of the market could rise to 80 per cent within the next two years, if not for the EU move.
In January, EU approved draft measures to reform its energy market and cut down energy consumption to achieve climate goals.
The proposal included a ban on the use of palm oil in motor fuels beginning in 2021.