EUROPE STILL LARGELY DEPENDS ON PALM OIL, SAYS MPOC

By Santhia Thevi Panjanadan

KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 (Bernama) -- Europe still largely depends on palm oil
to meet its oil and fats requirements despite European non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) continuing to berate Malaysia over allegations that the
commodity damages the environment, says Malaysian Palm Oil Council CEO Dr Yusof
Basiron.

In recent years, the plantation industry in Malaysia has been forced by
the NGOs to participate in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) as a
condition to ensure access into the European Union (EU) market as they have been
throwing allegations that palm oil is a threat to the Orang Utan habitat and
other animals, he said.

"We are not keen to withdraw from Europe because they need our oil more than
we need them. I would say we equally need them as much as they need us because
it is not easy to replace six or seven million tonnes of palm oil they are
importing from us," he told a roundtable discussion on palm oil hosted by
Bernama.

It was moderated by Bernama Editor-in-chief Datuk Yong Soo Heong, Deputy
Editor-in-Chief Puan Salbiah Said in-charge of Bernama Economic Service (BES)
and an Assistant Editor in the BES Siti Hawa Othman.

He said Europe would probably need about 15 to 16 million hectares of land
in order to replace palm oil and produce six to seven million tonnes of rapeseed
oil.

"They don't have that kind of land anymore. They are chronic net importers
of edible oil and fats. They need us. They cannot do without importing palm
oil," he said.

Dr Yusof said although the NGOs are very strong in lobbying the European
governments to put forms of trade barriers, MPOC is well aware that the
continent did not have a choice than to import palm oil.

"As a palm oil producer, Malaysia continues to take the position to supply
competently as possible to meet the requirements of our customers.

"We don't discriminate our customers. We promote good relationship,
marketing and efforts in order to continue to sustain and develop these markets
more and more. So, big or small we value them.

"It is important to engage the NGOs and try to see how their requirements
can be met without deviating from our opportunities and interests to
promote the palm oil industry.

"And now we have established and successfully adopted the RSPO principles
and criteria, its obvious that the NGOs are beginning to see the good results
we are able to supply to Europe and even the US with certified sustainable palm
oil," he said.

Dr Yusof said this is an on-going process of improvement and new efforts
must be put in to make situations more acceptable to NGOs and consumers.

He also said contrary to allegations that palm oil was destroying the
Orang Utans' habitat, these primates were thriving in oil palm plantations to
the extent that these animals were feasting on palm oil fruits.

"Confirmation from experts, the Orang Utan eats the loose fruits on the
ground and they do that regularly visiting our plantations. In the end, the
human kind is not the one benefiting from our palm oil industry as food.

"Many other animals, monkeys, squirrels you name it are all benefiting from
oil palm fruits.

"The abundance of food for these animals at oil palm plantations was helping
to increase monkeys' population. So, the allegations that we are destroying the
habitat is baseless when in fact palm oil is procreating the species," he added.
-- BERNAMA