Home | Sitemap | Login

   

Peatland News

Title: MPOC gets support from European Parliament members
Date: 17-Jan-2018
Category: Palm Oil
Source/Author: The Star
Description: The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) has secured the support of 57 members of the European Parliament for Malaysia’s palm oil industry.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) has secured the support of 57 members of the European Parliament for Malaysia’s palm oil industry.

Its chairman Datuk Lee Yeow Chor said the council is leading the fight against the European Union (EU) resolutions by engaging with lawmakers in Europe.

“Our proactive engagement has resulted in at least 57 parliamentarians tabling an amendment in support of Malaysian palm oil and opposing the ban,” Lee said in a statement.

According to the European Parliament website, there are 751 elected parliamentarians in the 28 member states of the enlarged EU.

 
 
 

“On behalf of the palm oil sector, and especially the 650,000 smallholders, I thank them for taking a stand that the ban on our country’s palm oil is unjustified,” he said.

Lee said the council would continue to work with the country’s palm oil industry supporters in Europe to oppose the resolutions.

He added that the council was using its experience with digital platforms to lead a campaign – Faces of Palm Oil – to express their opposition to the EU resolutions.

Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong said the protests by smallholders and Felda settlers were “a clear signal” to the EU that Malaysians are unhappy with the resolutions.

“The Malaysian Government views the proposed ban as an effort by Europe to impose a ‘Crop Apartheid’ on Malaysia’s 650,000 smallholders,” said Mah, adding that the Government would take the appropriate steps to protect the interests of more than 3.2 million Malaysians, whose livelihoods depended on the palm oil industry.

He called for the EU to stop its discrimination of palm oil as the resolutions would still allow oil seed crops to continue to be used in the EU under the Renewable Energy Directive while palm oil will be excluded by 2021.

“It is important to remind our EU counterparts that Malaysian palm oil meets the strictest standards of sustainability as required.

“Malaysian biofuels made from palm oil have also been certified as sustainable by the leading European sustainability schemes, including the German ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification),” he said.


Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/01/17/mpoc-gets-support-from-european-parliament-members/#R8s4upS3WZdUZ3t1.99


[ Back ] [ Print Friendly ]