MUMBAI (Sept 28): Fair and equitable competition is needed in the global trade of vegetable oils to ensure a level playing field for all stakeholders, said Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) secretary general Rizal Affandi Lukman.
According to Rizal, it is crucial to avoid measures that could create conditions where vegetable oil industries are pitted against each other in a detrimental way, which in turn would harm the industry as a whole.
“We hope that the competition in the trade is free, fair and more equitable. We have to avoid measures that create conditions that force the vegetable oil industries against each other. After all... each vegetable oil has its own advantages,” he said at the second Sustainable Vegetable Oils Conference (SVOC) in Mumbai.
“I also would like to appeal to the governments... not to enact policies that restrict trade through various measures both in the form of tariff- and non-tariff barriers because there will be negative implications to the welfare of the people, especially in developing countries, manifested in rising food costs and affordability for the world's population,” Rizal stressed.
Recognising the central role of vegetable oils in meeting the world’s food and energy needs, coupled with concerns of global warming, Rizal said that this role must be fulfilled through sustainable production practices that range from the early stages of production (upstream) to the latter stages (downstream).
“As the largest producer and exporter of palm oil, which is one of the most consumed vegetable oils by the world's population, we would like to encourage all the vegetable oil players to be in line to meet the world’s food and energy needs with sustainable production and play a role in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” said Rizal.
Rizal also said that the palm oil industry acknowledges a need to take proactive measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with production, going to shows that the industry is committed to addressing environmental concerns and climate change.
Rizal mentioned that many palm oil companies have publicly committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions within a certain timeframe. “We see this as a very positive step, and we strongly encourage all vegetable oil producers to do the same by committing to reducing emissions in their production processes”.