Malaysian Initiatives for Sustainable Palm Oil Pays Off in TAC Report
- Certification under the MSPO went under a frenzied pace when the government made the national scheme mandatory by the end of 2019.
- A joint commitment to communicate facts between the UK and Malaysia, made in 2023, addressed the concerns around the duty-free import of Malaysian palm oil into the UK.
- This was to include sustainability initiatives under the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certifications and how it relates to the UK’s Forest Risk Commodity Regulations.
Malaysia’s investment into making its palm oil industry sustainable, is paying off.
In a recent media statement, the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities shared that:
"It was one of the three certification schemes adopted for the Sustainable Sourcing Code for palm oil at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympic Games. Furthermore, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics showcased MSPO through the exclusive supply of bread formulated by the Palm Oil Research and Technical Services Institute of MPOB (PORTSIM)."
The most significant achievement of the MSPO to date, is expected to come from the UK.
CEO of MPOC, Belvinder Kaur Sron
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“MSPO is the gold standard for sustainable palm oil certification and can assure both importers and UK authorities that all legal requirements are met and no deforestation has taken place. |
To back up a bit, news of the UK’s granting of a zero tariff for Malaysian palm oil imports under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade deal drew alarm calls of how this deal would “reward environmental destruction and encourage trade in deforestation-linked palm oil.”
To address the allegations, the UK and Malaysia issued a joint statement on their commitment to communicate facts on palm oil and initiatives towards sustainable supply chains.
Fast forward to the present day, the UK’s Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) which is a new body to scrutinize the agricultural aspects of free trade agreements, has concluded that Malaysian palm oil is sustainable. This is a remarkable acknowledgement of Malaysia’s efforts towards producing palm oil sustainably as the TAC’s role is to advise if a trade agreement will change the UK’s domestic statutory protections or its ability to enforce those protections relating to animal welfare and environmental standards.
The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) which has long argued against “false allegations” made against Malaysian palm oil, greeted the TAC’s conclusion with a press statement urging the UK to adopt the MSPO as proof of sustainability. Quoting the MPOC’s CEO, Belvinder Sron:
“The facts about Malaysia’s commitment to palm oil excellence are clear. MSPO is the gold standard for sustainable palm oil certification and can assure both importers and UK authorities that all legal requirements are met and no deforestation has taken place. Malaysia leads the world in sustainable palm oil certification, and we look forward to supplying more high-quality sustainable palm oil to the United Kingdom and other markets.
There are potential benefits to the UK if more Malaysian palm oil is exported – because of higher sustainability standards in Malaysia compared with other countries.”
The CEO’s distinction of Malaysian palm from other countries is something CSPO Watch had recommended back in 2018, when implementation of the MSPO was at its highest point. At that time, we said:
“The immediate challenge for the Malaysian palm oil industry is to distinguish itself as a low risk for deforestation. The MSPO is obviously a great vehicle to achieve this as Malaysian operations are laid bare for all to see once the national certification is complete.”
This distinction will be important as the bigger challenge lies ahead in the form of the EU’s Deforestation Regulations.
Transparency, Traceability and Accountability
Having come this far, the Malaysian palm oil industry plans to up the game with its current effort towards total transparency in its supply chain.
According to the Director-General of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) Dr. Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir:
“MPOB has developed Sawit Intelligent Management System (SIMS), an integrated system which can facilitate the process of gathering and analysing information along the industry supply chain.
It also ensures compliance with legislation, particularly the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) as thorough record-keeping is crucial to meet the EUDR's requirements, which mandate comprehensive data and traceability across the supply chain.”
Quality assurance at this level, will be needed for the Malaysian palm oil industry to regain market share in the EU after years of declining exports.
At stake is the booming export of palm oil wastes to the EU which have to stay clean in the face of accusations of fraud in the EU’s import of Used Cooking Oils for renewable energy.
The much bigger picture for Malaysia lies in its complaint against the EU at the WTO, which remains unresolved. This new report from scientists provides Malaysia with fresh arguments as the study concluded that:
“Replacing palm oil with soybean, rapeseed, and sunflower oil could endanger up to 51.9 Mha of global forests, with a worthless effect on emissions reduction.
-Switching the entire palm oil production to deforestation-free method yields a significant 92% cut in GHG emissions.”
Based on Malaysia’s actions thus far to provide evidence for the sustainability of its palm oil, the claims of the industry are well substantiated. Convincing its consumers, will take the likes of SIMS to distinguish itself from other countries while the industry promotes the MSPO as a gold standard for sustainable palm oil.
Published February, 2024
To address the allegations, the UK and Malaysia issued a joint statement on their commitment to communicate facts on palm oil and initiatives towards sustainable supply chains.
Fast forward to the present day, the UK’s Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) which is a new body to scrutinize the agricultural aspects of free trade agreements, has concluded that Malaysian palm oil is sustainable. This is a remarkable acknowledgement of Malaysia’s efforts towards producing palm oil sustainably as the TAC’s role is to advise if a trade agreement will change the UK’s domestic statutory protections or its ability to enforce those protections relating to animal welfare and environmental standards.
The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) which has long argued against “false allegations” made against Malaysian palm oil, greeted the TAC’s conclusion with a press statement urging the UK to adopt the MSPO as proof of sustainability. Quoting the MPOC’s CEO, Belvinder Sron:
“The facts about Malaysia’s commitment to palm oil excellence are clear. MSPO is the gold standard for sustainable palm oil certification and can assure both importers and UK authorities that all legal requirements are met and no deforestation has taken place. Malaysia leads the world in sustainable palm oil certification, and we look forward to supplying more high-quality sustainable palm oil to the United Kingdom and other markets.
There are potential benefits to the UK if more Malaysian palm oil is exported – because of higher sustainability standards in Malaysia compared with other countries.”
The CEO’s distinction of Malaysian palm from other countries is something CSPO Watch had recommended back in 2018, when implementation of the MSPO was at its highest point. At that time, we said:
“The immediate challenge for the Malaysian palm oil industry is to distinguish itself as a low risk for deforestation. The MSPO is obviously a great vehicle to achieve this as Malaysian operations are laid bare for all to see once the national certification is complete.”
This distinction will be important as the bigger challenge lies ahead in the form of the EU’s Deforestation Regulations.
Transparency, Traceability and Accountability
Having come this far, the Malaysian palm oil industry plans to up the game with its current effort towards total transparency in its supply chain.
According to the Director-General of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) Dr. Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir:
“MPOB has developed Sawit Intelligent Management System (SIMS), an integrated system which can facilitate the process of gathering and analysing information along the industry supply chain.
It also ensures compliance with legislation, particularly the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) as thorough record-keeping is crucial to meet the EUDR's requirements, which mandate comprehensive data and traceability across the supply chain.”
Quality assurance at this level, will be needed for the Malaysian palm oil industry to regain market share in the EU after years of declining exports.
At stake is the booming export of palm oil wastes to the EU which have to stay clean in the face of accusations of fraud in the EU’s import of Used Cooking Oils for renewable energy.
The much bigger picture for Malaysia lies in its complaint against the EU at the WTO, which remains unresolved. This new report from scientists provides Malaysia with fresh arguments as the study concluded that:
“Replacing palm oil with soybean, rapeseed, and sunflower oil could endanger up to 51.9 Mha of global forests, with a worthless effect on emissions reduction.
-Switching the entire palm oil production to deforestation-free method yields a significant 92% cut in GHG emissions.”
Based on Malaysia’s actions thus far to provide evidence for the sustainability of its palm oil, the claims of the industry are well substantiated. Convincing its consumers, will take the likes of SIMS to distinguish itself from other countries while the industry promotes the MSPO as a gold standard for sustainable palm oil.
Published February, 2024
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