KUCHING, Dec 23: Deputy Prime Minister Dato Sri Fadillah Yusof has criticised a new European Union (EU) regulation that prevents the sale of commodities linked to deforestation and forest degradation as a deliberate act by Europe to block market access.
Fadillah, who is also Minister of Plantation and Commodities, said the EU Deforestation-Free Products Regulation which targets commodities like palm oil, timber, cocoa and rubber would be detrimental to farmers and adversely impact the global supply chain.
“Moreover, this regulation could lead to higher food prices and reduced output at a time of record global inflation.
“Europe’s justifications for promoting this regulation is based on unsound reasoning and has a weak scientific basis,” he said in a statement today.
He was commenting on the EU Council and Parliament provisional deal reached on Dec 6 to minimise the risk of deforestation and forest degradation associated with products that are imported into or exported from the EU.
Fadillah said the regulation will place additional burdens on Malaysian palm oil exporters to the EU market, specifically additional traceability requirements and data that must be provided to end-customers based in the EU.
“Countries will be ranked as ‘high risk’, ‘standard risk’ or ‘low risk’, and restrictions on commodities will be either more or less stringent, based on this ranking.
“It would be offensive to Malaysia if either palm oil, or the country, is designated high risk by the EU regulation. There is no justification for it,” he said.
He stressed that Malaysian palm oil is sustainable, and is one of the most certified vegetable oils in the world today.
“The Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) standard already guarantees Malaysia’s commitment to comprehensive sustainability standards.
“Malaysia will continue to provide sustainable and deforestation-free palm oil to our European and global customers. There is no need to add further costs and burdens,” he added.
Fadillah pointed out that some aspects of the risk-assessment process of the regulation are counter-productive to commitments to curb global deforestation and run the risk of disincentivising producing countries.
He added that unnecessary regulations on palm oil would exacerbate the food supply crisis, increase costs of food, increase energy costs and harm both the European and Malaysian economy as well as undermine poverty alleviation efforts.
“Malaysia underscores the need for a balanced approach between achieving development goals and climate ambition. The 2030 SDGs remain the utmost priority for Malaysia.
“We have embarked on sustainability initiatives including national certification schemes, such as the MSPO certification scheme, Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS) and Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) practices, with a view to facilitating access into the EU Single Market,” he elaborated.
As such, Fadillah said the EU must commit to genuine engagement with producing countries as Malaysia values the EU as one of its important trading and investment partners.
“We stand ready to further enhance this mutually-beneficial partnership, especially building on the recent signing of the Malaysia-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) as well as possible resumption of Malaysia-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations,” he added. — DayakDaily
