Palm oil ban blamed on protectionism, BOP balancing act By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s):Sri Lanka has come under a global purview in the wake of the country’s ban on importing and producing palm oil as a number of countries raised concerns over these actions by the government in a move to curb the use of the edible oil. He made these observations at a virtual roundtable this week on ”Sustainability Challenges in Palm Oil Sector in South Asia”, organised by the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC). He noted that in 2009 the cabinet approved tax concessions for the import of palm seeds to cultivate up to 25,000 hectares but in 2016 it was permitted to expand oil palm cultivation up to 20, 000 hectares. Moreover, the government had mandated the Coconut Research Institute to provide technical information to palm oil growers but there continued to be a lot of social pressure on the growers to stop cultivation. He noted that they needed to develop an Asian Palm Oil Alliance on Sustainable Palm Oil in line with the European Palm Oil Alliance as the issue of sustainability of palm oil has become a key concern in Europe.

Source: Sunday Times May 02, 2021 00:54 UTC