InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Palm oil is always taken as non-environmental commodity. In fact, the perception is not fully right. It needs some things to get the misperception right on track.

Director of Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (PFMA), Eddy Abdurrachman said, in many occasion, the Government of Indonesia took palm oil trade issues in many countries and institutions, such as, in World Trade Organization (WTO). PFMA also struggles for palm oil not to be categorized as high risk - commodity.

Eddy thought, palm oil from Indonesia is facing big challenges because European Union would implement new regulation, which is, European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Basically, the continent obliges every commodity that is sold in their region should be free from deforestation.

Meanwhile, palm oil is taken as a commodity which derived from deforestation. Eddy said, the negative perception happened for some combinations between misunderstanding about palm oil and how it was developed, including how negative campaigns get more intensive.

That is why the government of Indonesia encouraged to establish joint task force before EUDR implementation. “We met the government of European Union, discussed EUDR through the joint task force. The implementation should also consider the condition of developing countries,” he said in Advokasi Sawit that InfoSAWIT joined in Jakarta. (T2)