January 31, 2023
Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of essential commodities, including palm oil and natural rubber. The world’s demand for these two commodities is increasing in line with the increase in world population, developments in lifestyle trends, and the increasing variety of consumer products.
The current increase in world demand for palm oil is also triggered by the increasing need for renewable energy sources and the disruption of global vegetable oil supplies due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
However, the EU Regulation on Deforestation-Free Supply Chains was approved on November 6, 2022, and will enter the entry into-force stage in May or June 2023.
This policy ensures that any product on the EU market does not contribute to deforestation and forest degradation, either within the EU or elsewhere. All companies and related stakeholders in the EU market must comply with this policy.
The Director General of Multilateral Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tri Tharyat, when opening the FGD on Strengthening Indonesian Commodity Diplomacy Amid the Proliferation of the European Sustainability Policy, said that there are at least two strategic and leading Indonesian commodities whose supply chains could be affected by the EU Regulation on Deforestation-Free Supply Chains policy, namely coconut, palm oil, and rubber.
In this case, appropriate policy steps are required by Indonesia to secure market access for these two commodities in Europe and also to expand markets for these two commodities in other regions.
The purpose of the FGD said Tri, as reported by the BPDPKS official website, is to obtain responses and views from local stakeholders for palm oil and natural rubber regarding the proliferation of sustainability policies that are unbalanced and tend to be discriminatory towards Indonesian commodities. Also, identify strengths, weaknesses, and obstacles (tariff/non-tariff) in developing sustainable palm oil and natural rubber products in Indonesia and expanding market access abroad, as well as formulating recommendations and strategies for national economic diplomacy, especially for sustainable commodity sectors that are precise, comprehensive and effective, especially in the European region.
Panel Presentation and Discussion on the Advancement of Sustainable Palm Oil at the International Fora moderated by Diah Y. Suradiredja – Senior Policy Advisor at the Kehati Foundation. With Speaker General Secretary of CPOPC – Director of PPKKI, Director of Palm Oil Business Strategic, Plt. Director of Processing and Marketing of Plantation Products.
The participants of the FGD as follows:
- Head of the Foreign Communications Division of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI),
- Daily Chair of the Indonesian Biofuel Producers Association (APROBI),
- Head of the Secretariat of the ISPO Commission,
- Acting BPDPKS Partnership Director.
Acting BPDPKS Director of Partnerships Kabul Wijayanto, in his response, conveyed the importance of integrating all stakeholders to strengthen Commodity Diplomacy, especially palm oil.
According to Kabul, without the contribution of all parties, it will not be easy to win diplomacy with Europe because of the many varied things raised by Europe. ***
Source: Warta Ekonomi.co.id