Malaysia, Indonesia unite to fight ‘discriminatory’ EU over palm oil curbs

The leaders of the world’s top two palm-oil producers are demanding that the European Union ‘promptly address’ a new law aimed at forest protection

Onerous compliance conditions set out under the ‘unjust’ deforestation regulation will hit exports – and hurt the smallest farmers most, they say

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Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim walks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 6:30pm, 8 Jun 2023Updated: 6:37pm, 8 Jun 2023

The leaders of Malaysia and Indonesia, the world’s two largest producers of palm oil, pledged on Thursday to work together to force the European Union to rollback “discriminatory” forest protection measures that could hit exports of the lucrative commodity.

The two Southeast Asian nations have so far acted separately to address a raft of regulations implemented by the EU that they claim impose unfair conditions on supply chains of palm oil, the world’s most widely consumed vegetable oil.

Malaysia and Indonesia account for more than 80 per cent of the world’s total palm-oil exports, which can be found in everything from pastries to cosmetics.

In a joint statement, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said both countries will cooperate closely to address “highly detrimental discriminatory measures” imposed on palm oil following the introduction of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

A worker harvests palm-oil fruits at a plantation in the Malaysian state of Johor on Thursday last week. Malaysia has described the EU’s new deforestation law as “unjust”. Photo: Bloomberg

“The EU needs to promptly address such discriminatory measures and work towards a fair and equitable resolution,” said the statement, issued after the two leaders held a meeting during Jokowi’s first official visit to Malaysia since 2019.