MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Campaign to combat negative attitude towards palm oil
Campaign to combat negative attitude towards palm oil
25/6/07 (The Star) MALACCA - The Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry is on a campaign to educate consumers, especially those in European countries, that development of oil palm plantations have not resulted in the killing orang utans or caused global warming.
Its minister, Datuk Peter Chin said the consumers needed to be educated about what a palm oil tree is all about because there was a misconception that it was like a soyabean bush, which when harvested after a year needs to be planted again and the soil has to be ploughed again.
“On the issue of deforestation, it is unfortunate that our palm tree, which live up to more than 30 years, is not called a tree by the Europeans. They want to call it a crop. No doubt the tree gives fruits, but it is still a tree with leaves.”
“We are replacing the rainforest with trees called palm trees. From the sky, it looks like a tree. It is a tree,” Chin told reporters after launching the 6th Incorporated Society of Planters (ISP) National Seminar here on Monday.
Chin was commenting the recent spate of allegations from several environmental groups based in Europe and the United States that oil palm cultivation in Malaysia and Indonesia lead to a list of ills such as deforestation, climate change and the decline of the orang utan population.
Asked on the effectiveness of a video which was produced by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) to dispel the misconception, Chin said that it was part of the process to educate the consumers, but it would be something which would take some time.
“I think this is the beginning of a long campaign. Electronic media is just one of the aspects. In fact, we go overseas for seminars, symposiums, and trade fairs but this time the slant is towards environment,” said Chin.
The minister had only recently led a delegation of palm oil industry representatives on a six-day trip to the Hague, Brussels and London.
The mission was to address the negative sentiments towards palm oil.
“As for the orang utan, which is being made an issue, we all know that in Peninsular Malaysia there is no orang utan, and most of our plantations are in the Peninsular.
“Out of the total 4.2mil hectares of plantations, East Malaysia only constitutes to 1.8mil hectares of the total, with 1.2mil ha in Sabah and 600,000 ha in Sarawak,” said Chin.
Its minister, Datuk Peter Chin said the consumers needed to be educated about what a palm oil tree is all about because there was a misconception that it was like a soyabean bush, which when harvested after a year needs to be planted again and the soil has to be ploughed again.
“On the issue of deforestation, it is unfortunate that our palm tree, which live up to more than 30 years, is not called a tree by the Europeans. They want to call it a crop. No doubt the tree gives fruits, but it is still a tree with leaves.”
“We are replacing the rainforest with trees called palm trees. From the sky, it looks like a tree. It is a tree,” Chin told reporters after launching the 6th Incorporated Society of Planters (ISP) National Seminar here on Monday.
Chin was commenting the recent spate of allegations from several environmental groups based in Europe and the United States that oil palm cultivation in Malaysia and Indonesia lead to a list of ills such as deforestation, climate change and the decline of the orang utan population.
Asked on the effectiveness of a video which was produced by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) to dispel the misconception, Chin said that it was part of the process to educate the consumers, but it would be something which would take some time.
“I think this is the beginning of a long campaign. Electronic media is just one of the aspects. In fact, we go overseas for seminars, symposiums, and trade fairs but this time the slant is towards environment,” said Chin.
The minister had only recently led a delegation of palm oil industry representatives on a six-day trip to the Hague, Brussels and London.
The mission was to address the negative sentiments towards palm oil.
“As for the orang utan, which is being made an issue, we all know that in Peninsular Malaysia there is no orang utan, and most of our plantations are in the Peninsular.
“Out of the total 4.2mil hectares of plantations, East Malaysia only constitutes to 1.8mil hectares of the total, with 1.2mil ha in Sabah and 600,000 ha in Sarawak,” said Chin.