PUTRAJAYA, May 11 — Malaysia and Indonesia will carry out a joint mission to Brussels, the de facto capital of the European Union (EU), at the end of the month over the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Plantation and Commodities Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof today.
He said that the mission will meet the EU leadership and industry players for an engagement session to understand the newly-adopted regulation.
“Hopefully we will get a better explanation from them and their commitment that Malaysia will not be classified as a high-risk country,” he told reporters during an Aidilfitri open house at his official residence here.
The deputy prime minister added that Malaysia is committed to environmental sustainability and all international standards including global labour standards.
“That’s why we have the MSPO, that in itself is to ensure that the environment is not encroached upon,” he said, referring to the Malaysian Palm Oil Standards certification, which guarantees the country’s commitment to sustainability standards.
Fadillah said that the trade curbs affect not only the palm oil industry, but also other commodities in the Asean region.
“Hopefully this issue will be discussed in the Asean Summit so that it becomes an agenda at the Asean level,” he said.
The newly-adopted EU regulation mandates that products entering the EU market are not associated with deforestation or forest degradation, which profoundly concerns both Malaysia and Indonesia which are the largest palm oil producers in the world.
According to the European Parliament, the commodities covered by the legislation are cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, soy and wood.
Previously, Fadillah had expressed the government’s disappointment after EU member states voted to approve the negotiated deal on the EUDR, as he said that the regulation is unjust and serves primarily to protect a domestic oilseeds market that is inefficient and cannot compete with Malaysia’s efficient and productive palm oil exports.
The joint mission is intended to find out and give feedback on the bloc’s policy development on palm oil, as well as put forth scientific facts, economic interests in a social context and estate practices applied in both countries.
According to Fadillah, the joint mission is the result of the meeting between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesian President Joko Widodo followed by his meeting with Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto.
