04/10/2010 (Carrentals) - UK cosmetics firm The Body Shop have cut commercial links with a major supplier of palm oil after allegations that the company is pushing for the eviction of hundreds of peasants in Columbia where they plan to develop a palm oil plantation.

The observer reported last September that Daabon Organic, who supply The Body Shop with over 90 of its palm oil were pushing for over 200 farmers to be relegated from a ranch north of Bogota, the capital.

Daabon once supplied the British cosmetics giant with oil which could produce eight-million bars of soap each year, but after an enquiry lasting nine months The Body shop have decided to terminate its relationship. Peasant farmers who are still trying to return to the land have hailed the decision a victory.

The leader of the Pavas community has said that, now Daabon knows the world is watching. Christina Aid has welcomed the decision stating that it sends a very strong signal about the palm oil suppliers behaviour.

Disputes began in December 2006 when a subsidiary company of Daabon bought the 1,100-hectare ranch in the Bolivar province. In July 2009 more than 100 peasant farmers were evicted by police in riot gear. Farmers solicitors said that the consortium should have been aware that the land is home to families who have cultivated the land for over ten years.