KUALA LUMPUR: Following a United State report that Malaysia and Indonesia are not producing carbon efficient palm oil the two countries have taken their dissent to the US to refute the claims. Malaysia and Indonesia, the two largest producers of palm oil, are attempting to have a recent US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report changed. If not, it could dramatically reduce the two countries' positions atop the palm oil food chain, Malaysian trade and environment officials told Bikyamasr.com. Malaysia's Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, who is leading the effort, described the current EPA report as “erroneous” and felt the need to “come personally to the US” for discussions with senior US officials, saying the EPA data did not reflect the current standards practised in the producing countries, the country's Bernama news agency reported.. The EPA report, which was published in December said its findings on two types of palm-based biofuels – biodiesel and renewable diesel – failed to meet the minimum 20 percent greenhouse gas emissions savings threshold requirement needed to qualify as renewable fuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard 2 (RFS 2). “What happens here is heard by the rest of the world – and will reverberate around the world – painting a bad picture of palm oil,” Dompok told Bernama and RTM here on Friday. The EPA has invited all parties, including Malaysia and Indonesia, to submit comments on the report, and has extended its deadline to April 27. Dompok, who met senior officials at the EPA, told reporters he was hopeful that the problem would be resolved backed by the latest data on sustainable production of palm oil in the two countries. The problem is that both Southeast Asian countries could lose a dramatic amount of revenue if the US market is off-limits. US-Malaysia bilateral trade in 2011 was at $36.9 billion, while US-Indonesia trade was $27 billion. Malaysia is the world's largest exporter of palm oil, and its number one consumer is China, followed by the European Union, Pakistan, India, and the United States. Last year, Malaysia exported 18 million tons of palm oil and products globally worth RM80.3 billion, with about 1 million tonnes going to the US at RM5.93 billion, an increase from RM4.2 billion the previous year. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/6gcgD Tags: Carbon, EPA, Indonesia, Malaysia, Palm Oil Section: Business, Going Green, Latest News, North America, Southeast Asia
