Indonesia: EU Still Needs Palm Oil

TheIndonesia.co - An Indonesian official said demand for palm oil in Europe remains high despite restriction imposed on the commodity by the European Union, or EU.

The Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko said palm oil export from Indonesia to Europe increased by 26 percent in 2020. He also mentioned palm oil-based biofuels as EU’s main concern.

“What the EU takes issue with is the sustainability of biofuels from palm oil,” Moeldoko said after hosting a meeting between the Indonesian Oil Palm Farmers Association (Apkasindo) and EU Ambassador for to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam Vincent Piket on Monday, 8 November 2021.

Piket said European countries plan to make the continent climate neutral by 2050, in addition to their ambition to reduce carbon emission by 55 percent by 2030. Therefore, restriction on palm oil will likely to continue or even tighten as it deemed unsustainable.

“There are changes in policies which are predicted to restrict or even prohibit the entrance of non-eco-friendly products to Europe,” he said, adding that Indonesian commodities that will be exported to the region have to be sustainable.

Moeldoko added that with the current policy being in place, oil palm farmers must ensure their production does not create damaging effect on the environment.

“One of their variables is whether the product or commodity gives an impact on environmental degradation. And we, along with oil palm farmers, must pay attention to this,” he said.

In regards to this, chairman of Apkasindo Gulat Manurung claimed Indonesian farmers have prioritized sustainability in their production, from the economic, ecological, and social aspects.

“Forty-two percent of farmers in the 22 provinces in Indonesia are sustainable in managing oil palm as regulated in the Job Creation Law,” Manurung explained.

Currently, EU’s renewable energy directive (RED II) regulates that palm oil-based fuels are to be phased out by 2030 since palm oil is considered to be a main cause behind deforestation and is no longer deemed renewable.