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Indonesia pushes back on EU deforestation law regulations

07 October 20242 min reading

Indonesia and Malaysia have expressed strong opposition to the EU’s Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR), arguing it imposes unfair restrictions on their palm oil industries. While Indonesia welcomes a proposed one-year delay, it insists that a two-year postponement would be more appropriate to address the regulatory concerns.

Airlangga Hartarto

Indonesia expressed its concerns regarding the European Union's Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR), which aims to prevent deforestation by restricting the import of commodities linked to forest destruction. Indonesia’s focus is on the regulations rather than the proposed delay in its rollout. Coordinating minister of the economy, Airlangga Hartarto, said the country takes issue with the EU’s plan to classify nations by deforestation risk. "The EU has no right to be a rating agency," he stated, urging the bloc to cancel its country benchmarking system. Last year, Indonesia had already accused the EU of "regulatory imperialism" over the deforestation law, underscoring ongoing frustrations with the policy.

While welcoming the proposed delay, Airlangga said a two-year postponement would be more appropriate than the current one-year proposal. Indonesia's palm oil industry has been a vocal critic of the law, with concerns about its impact on smallholders. GAPKI, Indonesia’s palm oil association, sees the delay as an opportunity for the industry to better prepare, with chairman Eddy Martono confirming ongoing advocacy against "burdensome" regulations.

Malaysia, the world’s second-largest palm oil producer, shares Indonesia’s stance, with the Malaysian Palm Oil Council calling the delay a sensible decision that would ease global supply chain compliance.

On the other hand, not all stakeholders share this critical stance. The global, non-profit coalition of industry members, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which has offices in both Indonesia and Malaysia, emphasized in a statement to Feed Planet that they have been actively preparing their members for compliance, stating they are on track to meet the EUDR’s implementation deadline by December 2024. The RSPO also announced the upcoming launch of a digital traceability system to ensure EUDR-compliant supply chains.

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