13/01/2018 (The Star Online) - KUCHING: The European Union is urged to reconsider its decision to ban palm oil biofuels because this will adversely affect smallholders in Malaysia, said the Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners Association (Soppoa).

“The livelihoods of 650,000 smallholders are at stake. The ban is also very much a discriminatory act, as rightly stated by Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong,” the association said in a statement.

Soppoa said the ban was discriminatory because other seed oils were not affected by it, adding this was also a breach of the EU’s World Trade Organisation commitments.

It said the EU was not recognising the efforts being initiated in Malaysia on environmental control and quality as the palm oil industry moved towards Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil certification by next year.

In Sarawak, Soppoa added, the growth of the palm oil industry brought much needed infrastructure into the state’s vast rural areas and opened up formerly inaccessible inland areas.

“All these developments contribute to the growth of rural communities, providing jobs and steady income while turning the vast community land base into productive assets.

“Soppoa is fully supportive of the expansion of native customary rights land for agriculture production, including oil palm, as this will enable more people in the state to become entrepreneurs and provide a bright future for their children,” it said.

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/01/13/eu-urged-to-reconsider-move/#PjHUwJO2rAxMQLlE.99