KUALA LUMPUR, March 22 — The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) will continue to engage with the European Union (EU) to demand changes to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
MPOC chief executive officer Belvinder Kaur Sron said the MPOC fully supports the efforts of Malaysia’s smallholders to defend their families and their communities.
“Malaysian palm oil is sustainable, and should never be considered high risk.
“The EU must provide an exemption for smallholders under the EUDR and offer a guarantee that Malaysia will not be designated as a high-risk jurisdiction for deforestation,” she said in a statement today.
Yesterday, a delegation of leaders of Malaysia’s major smallholder organisations presented a petition on the EUDR to the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels.
The move followed a protest held on March 15 by several hundred oil palm and rubber small farmers from Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), National Association of Smallholders (Nash), Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra), Sarawak Dayak Oil Palm Planters Association (Doppa), FELCRA Bhd and the Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (Risda).
These groups represent 2.5 million Malaysian smallholders and their families.
Among other things, the petition sought the EU’s endorsement of the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) and removal of Malaysia from the list of countries at risk if the EUDR is implemented.
MPOC said the protest highlighted concerns about the detrimental impacts of the regulation on smallholders’ livelihood and market access, noting that a large number of smallholders in Malaysia have relied on successful palm oil exports to lift them out of poverty and support the sustainability of rural communities.
“The EUDR places burdens on them, threatening their livelihood and future prosperity as its unilateral and unrealistic demands on traceability and geolocation will prevent small farmers from accessing the European market.
“This would jeopardise the communities’ standard of living, reduce incomes, and undermine the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” the MPOC said.
— Bernama
