NL Corresspondent
Jammu Tawi: Vegetable oils, the fastest-growing food commodity, continue facing an ongoing challenge of meeting the escalating high demand that increasingly outstrips supply. The climate change impacts and geopolitical development pose main challenges that require collaboration and partnership among the producers to mitigate potential supply constraints that potentially disrupt the food and energy security. The Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) and Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) co-organised the 2nd Sustainable Vegetable Oils Conference (2nd SVOC) to address immediate challenges and to deliberate measures to enhance future resilience in providing sustainable vegetable oils. Taking place in Mumbai, India, so we want to align with the G20 on highlighting India as a major consuming country to strengthen cooperation on sustainability, food and energy security, renewable energy, resilience and inclusive food value chains, and circular economy. The Vice Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia, Jerry Sambuaga, reiterated today's conference notes, “Advancing Sustainability”, that has two important aspects concerning palm oil and its global contribution. First palm oil can fulfil the global demand of sustainable vegetable oil, but exploitation of palm oil negative image must stop. Second, palm oil and SDGs are inseparable, as the former underpins the attainment of the latter.The Secretary General Ministry of Plantation & Commodities of Malaysia, Dato' Hj. Mad Zaidi bin Mohd Karli, undearscored the world population that is growing steadily, and the world is under pressure to meet global demands for food and fuel. Dr Shatadru Chattopadhayay Managing Director Solidaridad Asia said that “Solidaridad urges the EU that for inclusive implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation, it is necessary to create three things: First, implement an inclusivity quota, guaranteeing a specific percentage of palm oil imports from smallholders in Indonesia and Malaysia. Second, support oil palm smallholders by providing pre-financing, technical assistance, and a guaranteed market for carbon credits. Third, support aligning national mandatory sustainability standards like the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) and the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) with the EUDR”.The Secretary General of CPOPC, Dr. Rizal Affandi Lukman, recalled the role of palm oil to provide new and innovative approaches, ideas and measures to ensure the resilience and prosperity of the global vegetable oil sector in the longer term.
