Published:
Saturday December 7, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Tuesday December 10, 2013 MYT 12:15:43 PM
Updated: Tuesday December 10, 2013 MYT 12:15:43 PM
Strengthening ties: Shahrir (left) briefing the European MEPs during their visit to the Malaysian Houses of Parliament.
KUALA LUMPUR: European
parliamentarians met members of the Barisan National Backbenchers Club
for a chat about palm oil at the Parliament building.
The session marked the end of the Europeans’ week-long trip organised by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC).
This past week, the group visited government officials and palm oil smallholders in Sabah, Sarawak and the peninsular.
Backbenchers club chairman Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad, who is also the former Malaysian Palm Oil Board chairman, hosted yesterday’s session, which included MPs representing constituencies with a high number of palm oil smallholders such as Mukah, Kota Tinggi, Mambong and Kanowit.
They discussed topics including the role of palm oil in carbon sequestration, land conversion issues in the peat swamp-rich state of Sarawak and European perceptions of palm oil.
The group of four MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) are from Britain, Spain and Poland. British MEP Julie Girling said the trip was a good chance to meet local smallholders.
She said the two main concerns her constituents had regarding palm oil were its environmental impact and the potential displacement of natives from their land to make way for plantations, especially considering an increase in demand from Europe for biofuel.
She said the way forward lies in increasing their sources of Certified Sustainable Palm Oils (CSPO) through certification schemes such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
However, she acknowledged that the uptake of CSPO by manufacturers had been poor since the scheme’s inception in 2004.
CSPO constitutes roughly 14% of global crude oil but global uptake only stands at about 50%. One of the industries’ main gripes is that operators have been unable to recoup certification costs via promised premiums for CSPO.
These issues were discussed during a roundtable session hosted by MPOC chairman Datuk Lee Yeow Chor on Thursday.
Spanish MEP Emilio Menendez del Valle said the deluge of information on palm oil had distorted facts regarding it in Europe.
He said he would do his best to clarify any misunderstanding but noted it would be difficult to get information out before the next parliamentary elections in May.
The two other MEPs were Emma McClarkin of Britain and Krzysztof Lisek from Poland.
The group also met Native Customary Rights landowners farming under the Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority and Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) smallholders at the Gunung Besout 6 estate in Sungkai, Perak.
The session marked the end of the Europeans’ week-long trip organised by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC).
This past week, the group visited government officials and palm oil smallholders in Sabah, Sarawak and the peninsular.
Backbenchers club chairman Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad, who is also the former Malaysian Palm Oil Board chairman, hosted yesterday’s session, which included MPs representing constituencies with a high number of palm oil smallholders such as Mukah, Kota Tinggi, Mambong and Kanowit.
They discussed topics including the role of palm oil in carbon sequestration, land conversion issues in the peat swamp-rich state of Sarawak and European perceptions of palm oil.
The group of four MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) are from Britain, Spain and Poland. British MEP Julie Girling said the trip was a good chance to meet local smallholders.
She said the two main concerns her constituents had regarding palm oil were its environmental impact and the potential displacement of natives from their land to make way for plantations, especially considering an increase in demand from Europe for biofuel.
She said the way forward lies in increasing their sources of Certified Sustainable Palm Oils (CSPO) through certification schemes such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
However, she acknowledged that the uptake of CSPO by manufacturers had been poor since the scheme’s inception in 2004.
CSPO constitutes roughly 14% of global crude oil but global uptake only stands at about 50%. One of the industries’ main gripes is that operators have been unable to recoup certification costs via promised premiums for CSPO.
These issues were discussed during a roundtable session hosted by MPOC chairman Datuk Lee Yeow Chor on Thursday.
Spanish MEP Emilio Menendez del Valle said the deluge of information on palm oil had distorted facts regarding it in Europe.
He said he would do his best to clarify any misunderstanding but noted it would be difficult to get information out before the next parliamentary elections in May.
The two other MEPs were Emma McClarkin of Britain and Krzysztof Lisek from Poland.
The group also met Native Customary Rights landowners farming under the Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority and Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) smallholders at the Gunung Besout 6 estate in Sungkai, Perak.
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