JAKARTA, March 6 (Bernama) -- Six bodies representing palm oil producers and exporters from Malaysia and Indonesia have agreed to cooperate to jointly tackle issues related to palm oil, particularly those raised by non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The effort was formalised under a memorandum of cooperation signed yesterday by the Malaysian Palm Oil Producers Association (MPOA), Indonesia Palm Oil Association, Association of Palm Investors from Malaysia and Indonesia (APIMI), Sarawak Oil Palm Owners Association, Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), and Indonesia Oil Palm Smallholders Association.
The signing of the agreement was witnessed by Malaysia's Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok and Indonesia's Agriculture Minister Suswono.
MPOA chief executive officer Datuk Mamat Salleh said Malaysia and Indonesia should work together in overcoming the challenges being faced by the industry at the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), in negotiations on trade regulations with the European Union and the United States, and at the International Panel on Climate Change.
"The issues being faced and should be tackled carefully include those on sustainability, biodiversity, greenhouse gas emission, and carbon stock in forests and peatlands which cannot be touched even for the people's development," he said.
Mamat said at the same time, the two countries should be cautious towards new issues which might arise such as indirect land use change and border carbon tax.
Another issue which is expected to emerge in the long term is the focus on water sources and supply in the form of water footprint which can make oil palm cultivation controversial, he said.
At a press conference, Dompok said that Malaysia and Indonesia, which contributed 85 per cent of the CPO in the international market, were entitled to cooperate to protect the interests of the palm oil industry.
He said with the cooperation, the producers involved could carry out programmes to present correct information on the palm oil industry in the two countries as well their efforts in preserving the environment.
"In the past, the NGOs questioned the health aspect of palm oil but their allegations had been countered by Malaysia and Indonesia with proven evidence," Dompok said.
"Now they are using the environment issue. We are a responsible member of the world community, there is no reason for us to destroy the very place that we live," he said.
Susowono said Malaysia and Indonesia, responsible for 85 per cent of the world's CPO production, should also determine the commodity price in the international market, which was presently decided in Rotterdam.
"The cooperation (between Malaysia and Indonesia) will help to tackle the negative issues relating to the palm oil industry," he said, adding that Indonesia has not expanded the area for oil palm cultivation.
He also hoped that Indonesia could increase its productivity in CPO production which was still low compared to Malaysia.
Currently, Indonesia is producing 20 million tonnes of CPO from 7.9 million hectares of oil palm plantations compared to 16 million tonnes of CPO from 4.7 million hectares in Malaysia.
This is due to the lower productivity of Indonesian smallholders who are managing 3.0 million hectares of oil palm.
The effort was formalised under a memorandum of cooperation signed yesterday by the Malaysian Palm Oil Producers Association (MPOA), Indonesia Palm Oil Association, Association of Palm Investors from Malaysia and Indonesia (APIMI), Sarawak Oil Palm Owners Association, Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), and Indonesia Oil Palm Smallholders Association.
The signing of the agreement was witnessed by Malaysia's Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok and Indonesia's Agriculture Minister Suswono.
MPOA chief executive officer Datuk Mamat Salleh said Malaysia and Indonesia should work together in overcoming the challenges being faced by the industry at the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), in negotiations on trade regulations with the European Union and the United States, and at the International Panel on Climate Change.
"The issues being faced and should be tackled carefully include those on sustainability, biodiversity, greenhouse gas emission, and carbon stock in forests and peatlands which cannot be touched even for the people's development," he said.
Mamat said at the same time, the two countries should be cautious towards new issues which might arise such as indirect land use change and border carbon tax.
Another issue which is expected to emerge in the long term is the focus on water sources and supply in the form of water footprint which can make oil palm cultivation controversial, he said.
At a press conference, Dompok said that Malaysia and Indonesia, which contributed 85 per cent of the CPO in the international market, were entitled to cooperate to protect the interests of the palm oil industry.
He said with the cooperation, the producers involved could carry out programmes to present correct information on the palm oil industry in the two countries as well their efforts in preserving the environment.
"In the past, the NGOs questioned the health aspect of palm oil but their allegations had been countered by Malaysia and Indonesia with proven evidence," Dompok said.
"Now they are using the environment issue. We are a responsible member of the world community, there is no reason for us to destroy the very place that we live," he said.
Susowono said Malaysia and Indonesia, responsible for 85 per cent of the world's CPO production, should also determine the commodity price in the international market, which was presently decided in Rotterdam.
"The cooperation (between Malaysia and Indonesia) will help to tackle the negative issues relating to the palm oil industry," he said, adding that Indonesia has not expanded the area for oil palm cultivation.
He also hoped that Indonesia could increase its productivity in CPO production which was still low compared to Malaysia.
Currently, Indonesia is producing 20 million tonnes of CPO from 7.9 million hectares of oil palm plantations compared to 16 million tonnes of CPO from 4.7 million hectares in Malaysia.
This is due to the lower productivity of Indonesian smallholders who are managing 3.0 million hectares of oil palm.
