The Ambassador Of The European Union Denies The Ban On Indonesian Palm Oil Exports

Oil palm illustration. (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Agriculture)

JAKARTA - The Ambassador of the European Union to Indonesia Vincent Piket said that his party did not impose any restrictions, let alone embaro, prohibit the export of palm oil from Indonesia to Europe.

This was conveyed by Piket in a virtual discussion with the media entitled 'EU and Indonesia: A Look Back at 2020 & Look Ahead to 2021' which was held on Wednesday, January 13.

"In the first 10 months of last year, exports of palm oil from Indonesia to Europe increased by 27 percent in value. In volume, it increased by about ten percent," he said.

"This shows when people say the barrier, the embargo, it is not true. It is not true that we prohibit exports. We are cooperating on the issue of palm oil with Indonesia. We have an agreement with Indonesia," he added.

However, he acknowledged that there was a debate about Indonesian palm oil. However, he ensured that the EU remains open to exports of Indonesian palm oil, while creating a discussion group to discuss this issue.

"We agree to a working group to discuss this issue together. So, all confusion can be resolved, problems can be avoided and the relationship can continue. Because in Europe there are also palm oil consumers," he said.

It is known that a number of European countries have restricted the use of oil palm, because oil palm agriculture in Indonesia is considered to be damaging to the environment. In fact, oil palm is included in a commodity that includes Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) which has a high risk of land use change and deforestation.

The categorization is based on the Renewable Energy Directive II made by the European Union. Among these regulations, biodiesel, which is based on palm oil, is not included in the European Union's version of the renewable energy list.