InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Crude palm oil plays its big roles to supply vegetable oil needs in the global competition. After it faces many regulations about man’s health, palm oil now faces the new challenges which are, not involved in forest damage or deforestation and human rights violation.
According to the latest news from European Parliament that recently conducted votes, it described that the institution would care about what the people would consume. Vegetable oil (including palm oil) should have no indication with deforestation and human rights violation.
The care and leadership of European Union Parliament could be the new reference, the new challenge to palm oil traceability in the global markets where more than 85% derived from Malaysia and Indonesia. from the production, palm oil has big competence to fulfill vegetable oil markets in the globe including in European Union.
Palm oil plantations that have been commercially developing for more than one century in Indonesia, laid about 16,3 million hectares Indonesia. They significantly contributed to about 48 million tons or about 55% of the total production in the world.
The production which mostly derived from Indonesia supplied food and non-food market needs in many countries. The people of the world can consume healthy and economic price palm cooking oil. On the other hand, non-food palm oil is applied as material to produce environmental and renewable products
Palm oil plantations in Indonesia which more than 42$ belong to the smallholders also play the big roles to CPO production globally where the people of the world namely European Union consume. The wide plantations of the smallholders need real support from the challenges in European Union.
The Smallholders Need Supports from European Union
Palm oil traceability to the consumers really delivers description on the track record how CPO was produced until the world (people) can consume it. That is why traceability discusses not only about production sector only but also the issues in the goal countries.
CPO markets are in the world, have kinds of problems too, starting from regulation of export and import, tariff and non-tariff barriers, until the taste of consumers. CPO market issues are rarely heard because many are ahead. It always happens that every issue is about business only which becomes the issue that palm oil producers face.
On the other hand, market issues derive from the taste and interest of consumers only. If they are not interested, the consumers easily decide not to consumer palm oil. If it is about national interest from the exporter countries, they easily published tariff and non-tariff barrier to stop CPO and its derivatives being sold in the countries.
It means, deforestation and human rights violation that European Union claimed could be only about taste of the consumers there. The forests which get narrow, become the main issue about deforestation that would vanish habitats and the life of human beings eventually.
Human rights violation which is full of sadness and tragedy in the history of European Union could be one note for them. That is why the care of European Union Parliament and people in the continued should be really appreciated by CPO producers in Indonesia.
The care of parliament and people in European Union should be actually harmonized with the presence of Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) and Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certificates which are the standards for palm oil plantation companies and smallholders. What European Union consumers ask for can be fulfilled by millions of CPO and its derivative production that have been certified.
Besides CPO and its derivative traceability also involve smallholders in the production supply chain up to the consumption. The hard work of the smallholders should get appreciation from the premium price that European Union consumers should pay without involving deforestation and human rights violation.
It needs multi-sides’ roles to encourage the production based on what the consumers’ taste. Not only having rhetoric only but also have capability to harmonize what the consumers need of with the sustainable production for all these years. There is abundant sustainable production while the consumers never increase their demands.
CPO and its derivative producers should prepare because the demands on no deforestation and human rights violation could be the big chance for European Union community to be the new safety standard for palm oil. It needs new certificate that would multiply CPO production cost in the end.
By: Ignatius Ery Kurniawan / Editorial in Chief of InfoSAWIT
