KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia should engage other palm oil producers like Indonesia and Thailand in protesting against the European Union’s (EU) move to impose sanctions on palm oil imports beginning 2021.
Gabungan Wawasan Generasi Felda (GWGF) chairman Tan Sri Rozali Ismail said such a move by the EU is unfair and discriminatory towards Asian products, while they continue to promote their own products here.
He said the EU decision to boycott palm oil imports will affect the livelihoods of more than 1 million smallholders, oil palm workers, second generation Felda settlers and the entire industry.
“There is a lot of bilateral trade with the EU including the procurement of military machinery, equipment and others. If they boycott palm oil, Malaysia should also deploy a similar approach and I would fully support the government’s decision to review trade relations with the EU,” said Rozali.
“We used to speak of free trade which included palm oil, soya and corn. If they want to promote their own products, then they should not undermine Asian products such as palm oil,” he said, when contacted.
Rozali was commenting on Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s statement that the government will review trade relations with the EU following their boycott on palm oil.
The decision on the review was made following a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last week.
The European parliament had last April approved a resolution that only palm oil that is produced through environmentally sustainable means could be imported into the EU after 2020, a move that was seen as discriminatory.
Malaysia’s commodity based exports between January and November 2017 totalled RM129.1 billion or 15.1 per cent of total export revenue for the country.
A total of 55.4 per cent or RM71.5 billion of that is contributed by the palm oil sector.
Translated from Berita Harian