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Food exports to EU in trouble in wake of Zero Palm Policy


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Food exports to EU in trouble in wake of Zero Palm Policy

By THE NATION

 

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After the EU's announcement of Zero Palm Oil policy which has encouraged member countries to reduce the consumption of palm oil and biodiesel produced from palm, EU importers has informed Thai exporters that food products delivered to EU will be prohibited from using palm oil as an ingredient, and needs to show "no palm oil" as an ingredient on the labels, said Visit Limlurcha, president of Food Processing Industry under the Federation of Thai Industry (FTI).

 

The Zero Palm Oil policy was enforced after claims of palm farming partly associated with deforestation and environmental degradation while palm biodiesel also emits more greenhouse gas than other fuels.

 

“The export products affected by this policy are snack, curry, and instant foods which are fried in oil palm or includes it as an ingredient” said Visit. “Although the policy is not officially part of the import regulations, Thai exporters need to adjust their production process by using other kinds of oil, such as rice oil or soybean oil”.

 

“Moreover, we are afraid of the policy will spread to other markets banning the imports of palm oil and palm-oil-ingredient products” Visit said.

 

Meanwhile, a source in automobile industry said that the main reason behind the EU's palm oil policy is its hidden agenda in electronic vehicles promotion, using the environmental threat of palm farming as an excuse.

 

Malaysia and Indonesia, the first and second biggest exporters, have threatened to sue the EU over its palm oil policy at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30377291

 

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-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-10-10
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4 hours ago, Topdoc said:

The EU ban on palm oil favours alternative crops like rapeseed and soybeans that are grown in Europe as a source of oil for biofuel.

With regard to soy beans used as a biofuel, that might for the most part be a political decision related to the USA tariff war with China and American farmer's massive loss of soy bean sales to China. This trade gesture might be leveraged by the EU for a good trade deal with the USA. In 2017, the EU produced crop biodiesel mix included only 6% soy bean. So not a significant biofuel supply issue for the EU.

  • The EU Commission’s decision on the US scheme to import soy beans will be valid only until the first RED is repealed on 1 July 2021. https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/us-soy-for-producing-biofuels-an-unsustainable-giveaway-to-trump/

At that time the higher environmental requirements of recently revised RED II will take effect and likely rule out further soy bean imports for biofuel purposes.

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1 hour ago, MikeN said:

Natural, dense rainforest is cleared to plant a few palm trees in nice straight rows, all equally spaced the same distance apart. So it is certainly not misleading.

 Palm oil is not a healthy product to use anyway, but it’s cheap, that’s why the manufacturers use it......and why there is row after row of the stuff on Tesco shelves and only a few bottles of other vegetable oils. It’s taken a while but I have finally got the missus not to buy palm oil.

Like plantation trees after the west devastated their forest. 

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17 hours ago, overherebc said:

Just change the labels.

What's irritating is the way they include palm oil in so called "condensed milk", maybe the Thai population are just cholesterol junkies?

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13 hours ago, Topdoc said:

Palm oil biofuel was once seen as the best way to fight climate change, even by the EU, but it is now seen purely as a contributor to deforestation. The EU ban on palm oil favours alternative crops like rapeseed and soybeans that are grown in Europe as a source of oil for biofuel. However, these alternative crops require much more land to generate the same amount of oil as palm plantations, and they store less CO2 than palm oil. Rapeseed, for example produces four to 10 times less oil than palm oil per unit of land and requires more fertilizer and pesticides. Net palm oil production is more efficient in preventing climate change through biofuel than alternative crops.

World Economic Forum

Do you really think its about the mythical "Climate Change" the naturally occurring cycle that is 98% controlled by the sun and less than 1% caused by humans? Its all about money and tax. 

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On 10/11/2019 at 12:01 AM, Gulfsailor said:

Palm oil is the least environmentally unfriendly oil crop. Replacing palm oil with other oils requires an additional 50 million hectares of farm land. That’s more than the entire Borneo rainforest that’s left. So I think the orangutans should be pleased humans only used around 5% of the original Borneo rainforest for palm oil plantations. 

We were getting along just fine before, we don't need it and we really don't need the destruction of forrest to grow palm on such a massive scale that will inevitably create an oversupply and a price crash. 

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