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SL palm oil ban is questionable, says Indonesia

30 Apr 2021

Palm Oil expert and Goodhope Asia Holdings PT Agro Harapan Lestari Sustainability Director Edi Suhardi, comparing the Indonesian palm oil sector to that of Sri Lanka, questioned the recent palm oil ban imposed by the Sri Lankan Government.   “The justification and reasoning behind the ban of palm oil is questionable because the claim is in regards to environmental impact, which has been taken up with the Non-Governmental Organisations, and it had no ground,” Suhardi commented.  He further stated that the Sri Lankan ban has been misguided because of stigma resulting from myths.  Suhardi also pointed out that the policy that banned Palm Oil is aimed to protect coconut cultivation as Sri Lankan coconut manufacturing companies increased prices by 20% after the ban.  He highlighted that the main reason Sri Lanka imposed the ban is to safeguard the country against the country’s foreign reserves and to improve the balance of payments.  In terms of Environmental impacts of water use utilised for the cultivation of palm oil, Suhardi presented data that consisted of a comparison of water management functions between palm oil plantations and a tropical forest.  Accordingly, the transpiration – the evaporation of water through leaves that is released to the atmosphere that induces rain – in palm oil plantations that indicated 1610-1750 mm/year was higher than that of a tropical forest which indicated 1560-1620 mm/year . Thus, a palm oil plantation inducing rainfall greater than a tropical forest was presented as a solution to the main social concern of the water use utilised in cultivation.  The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), established in 2004 with the objective of promoting the growth and use of sustainable oil palm products through global standards and multistakeholder governance, was stated to be working alongside the Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) and the Malaysia Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO).  The ultimate objective that is shared amongst these parties involves transforming the market towards a sustainable palm oil sector in its relevant countries and continents.  Suhardi gave a glimpse of Indonesia’s sustainable cultivation of palm oil. Having close to 2 million ha certified by the RSPO and 4.1 million certified by the ISPO, Indonesia exists as the largest producer of sustainable palm oil in the world.  RSPO certified Indonesian palm oil market uptake involves a 46%, 7.7 MT out of 15.19 CSPO. One measure that Indonesia undertook to maintain the sustainability of palm oil involved implementing multiple standards of sustainability certification required by the market.  


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