Indonesia, Australia Finalizing Trade Negotiations on Crude Palm Oil

The Indonesian and Australian governments are finalizing negotiations on crude palm oil trade, Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita said on Monday this week, the Antara News reported on April 10.  The final agreement is expected to come out this August, the Minister added. 

The Minister of Trade also continued to communicate intensively with the Australian parliament regarding the drafting of policies on the use of palm oil and its derivative products in Australia.  In addition to Australia, the EU and the United States are also reviewing the use of palm oil and its derivative products in their respective countries.  They argued that palm oil products are not friendly to environmental sustainability, as it was also considered as the largest contributor to illegal logging.  

However, the Minister of Trade saw the motive of industrial competition behind the ban on the use of crude palm oil in the European Union, the United States and Australia. Therefore, the Government of Indonesia will seek to stop importing commodities from the areas, should the parliaments of these countries insist on halting the entry of crude palm oil from Indonesia.