Global Trade
Indonesia, Malaysia deploy ministers to push back on EU palm oil restrictions
JAKARTA — Top officials from Indonesia and Malaysia, the world’s biggest palm oil producers, will meet European Union policymakers in Brussels amid a diplomatic standoff over a new deforestation rule that threatens to shut the commodity out of the EU market. The rule, formally adopted by the EU on May 16, bans the trading within […]
Indonesian audit finds taxes unpaid on 22 million acres of oil palm plantations
JAKARTA — A government audit on Indonesia’s palm oil industry found that 9 million hectares (22.2 million acres) of concession holders — an area three times the size of Belgium — don’t pay taxes. According to Luhut Pandjaitan, the chief minister in charge of investments, including the palm oil industry, the government arrived at that […]
EU deforestation tracking regulation sparks division among groups, producers
JAKARTA — As the European Union is set to adopt a landmark regulation that prohibits companies from trading commodities from deforested areas and illegal sources, the proposed law continues to be divisive. On one hand, governments of palm oil producing countries like Malaysia and Indonesia have rejected the law, saying its requirements are too strict […]
With little will to fight it, corruption is major risk for Indonesian palm oil
JAKARTA — The combination of weak antigraft policies, lack of transparency, revolving-door politics, and the prevalence of politically exposed persons within companies makes Indonesia’s palm oil industry highly prone to corruption, a new report says. Published by anticorruption NGO Transparency International Indonesia (TII), the report evaluates the top 50 palm oil companies in Indonesia, the […]
Indonesian palm oil billionaire gets 15 years for corruption
JAKARTA — A court in Indonesia has sentenced palm oil billionaire Surya Darmadi to 15 years in prison for his role in the biggest corruption case in the country’s history. The Jakarta Anti-Corruption Court ruled on Feb. 23 that Surya had conspired with the elected head of Indragiri Hulu district in Sumatra, Raja Thamsir Rachman, […]
Is El Salvador preparing to reverse its landmark mining ban?
MEXICO CITY — It was considered a major environmental victory, back in 2017, when El Salvador’s government announced it would be the first country in the world to issue a total ban on metal mining. For a half-century, the industry had been dumping waste and toxic chemicals into local rivers. Prioritizing clean drinking water was […]
Indonesia and Malaysia assail new EU ban on ‘dirty commodities’ trade
JAKARTA — The governments of Indonesia and Malaysia, two of the world’s largest palm oil producers, have intensified their criticisms against European Union trade policies, which they deem to be discriminatory toward palm oil. Indonesia’s and Malaysia’s outcry has sown doubts over the two countries’ commitments to combat deforestation, with palm oil being a contributor […]
Indonesia prosecutors decry ‘lenient’ sentences in palm oil corruption case
JAKARTA — Anticorruption activists in Indonesia have criticized as too lenient the sentences handed down by an Indonesian court against officials at the center of a cooking oil shortage that rocked the world’s top producer of palm oil. A trade ministry official, a prominent economist, and three palm oil executives were on Jan. 4 convicted […]
For Indonesian smallholders, EU deforestation rule is a threat — and an opportunity
JAKARTA — New palm oil regulations being adopted by the European Union and the U.K. could put even more pressure on independent small farmers in Indonesia who are already struggling to meet sustainability requirements, new research suggests. Smallholder advocates say there needs to be greater support to help these farmers join the deforestation-free supply chain […]
‘Amazing first step’ as EU law cracks down on deforestation-linked imports
JAKARTA — The European Union has finalized a law that will ban the trade of commodities associated with deforestation and forest degradation. On Dec. 6, the European Council, Parliament and Commission struck a preliminary deal to adopt the deforestation-free regulation, proposed by the European Commission in 2021. The Parliament and the Council will still have to formally […]