KUALA LUMPUR: Palm oil industry stalwart Tan Sri Dr. Yusof Basiron is now the new Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) executive director for three years to 2022.
In the statement, Malaysia's Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok and Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution announced appointment of the CPOPC Secretariat Members from mid-2019 to mid-2022.
Yusof succeeded Mahendra Siregar, who lead the CPOP secretariat since 2017 to mid-2019.
Dupito D. Simamora is now appointed the new CPOPC deputy executive director. He succeeded Prof. Datuk Makhdzir Mardan.
Supporting key personnel at CPOPC include director of strategy and policy Mohammad Jaaffar Ahmad and Dr. Witjaksana Darmosarkoro who is the director of sustainability and smallholders development.
In response to the issue of the level of 3-MCPDE proposed by the EU, both Darmin and Kok reiterated palm oil should not be discriminated and be treated equal to soy, rapeseed and sunflower, which are the native oil crops of developed nations.
Indonesia and Malaysia said, with regards to 3-MCPDE issue raised by the EU, there should be one maximum level at 2.5 ppm for all vegetable oils, as the acceptable safety limit for consumption.