Colombia Claims its Palm Oil is “Unique and Differentiated”

Colombia claims its palm oil is “unique and differentiated” and that it has 44 million hectares of under-utilised, already degraded land to develop it without causing any deforestation, FoodNavigator.com reported last week.  

The country produces 1.6 million MT of palm oil annually and accounts for 2% of global palm oil.  Though small compared to Malaysia and Indonesia which jointly account for 85%, Colombia is fourth biggest palm producing country in the world and the biggest in Latin America.  The country is also on a mission to increase its production and is confident it can do this sustainably, said the national trade group Fedepalma at a meeting with FoodNavigator and other trade journalists at its headquarters in Bogota during a press trip organised by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).  

The Colombian palm oil industry wants to distance itself from the environmental problems besetting the commodity in Southeast Asia, and says the country has land available to develop its agricultural sector. These 44 million hectares of predominantly pasture land are said to be already degraded and the government has drawn up palm oil suitability maps identifying areas the crop could be grown without damaging biodiversity.  A zero deforestation commitment, signed earlier this year, is also proof of this commitment, said Ivan Valenciana, a consultant specialising in Deforestation in supply chains at the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development.