Europe Still Needs Palm Oil

TRADE Ministry reiterated its view that European opposition to the palm oil industry was driven more by economic and financial reasons than concerns for the environment. That’s why European keep consuming palm oil products. “They (European Union) seems to oppose palm oil while in fact they need them a lot,”Arlinda, Director General of National Export Development at Trade Ministry said in Madrid, Spain (6/10/2018) as reported by CNNIndonesia. According to her not all European Union member support discrimination on palm oil. Spain for instance, has declared that it does not support palm oil ban. This country imports a lot of palm oil from Indonesia. In 2017, palm oil shipment from Indonesia to Spain increased 45,89% to US$1,16 billion compared to 2016. In order to support palm oil, European Palm Oil Association (EPOA) organized a conference on palm oil in Madrid 4-5 October 2018. The European Palm Oil Conference (EPOC) 2018 in Madrid on showed that European palm oil industry is ready to make the switch and lead sustainable palm oil market transformation in Europe. Delegates in the room called for action and reviewed the potential of using a joint communication campaign to encourage sustainable practices. Indonesian speakers at the conference were Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Germany Arif Havas Oegroseno, Head of District Musi Banyuasin, South Sumatera Dodi Reza Alex who is also Chairman of Sustainable Districts Platform (Lingkar Temu Kabupaten Lestari), and Sustainability Analyst at Wilmar Europe Gersen Sumardi. Attendees at the conference included officials from the Indonesian Oil Palm Estate Fund (BPDPKS).***