Malaysia says Netherlands opposes palm oil 'discrimination'

The Netherlands has become the latest EU country to promise that it will not discriminate against palm oil's use in the bloc’s renewable energy scheme after 2021, according to reports in the Malaysian media.

Local media reported Netherlands Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag as saying that the country did not support discriminatory measures, or differentiation between products and called for a dialogue on the palm oil issue.

“Nobody should be penalised, alternatives need to be created and we need to be discussing this in a proper format where there is full understanding of the local situation and what the global market development can deliver,” Kaag was reported as saying.

The Dutch government hasn't yet confirmed directly whether it supports the exclusion of biofuels feedstocks blamed for causing climate change in Indonesia and Malaysia, which account for 85% of global output. 

The Netherlands is one of the largest importers of palm oil in the EU for use in biodiesel, and also uses large volumes of the commodities for consumer goods such as foods and cosmetics.

The country has close involvement with the EU recast of its renewable energy directive (RED) on the use of biofuels, as Dutch Green Left MEP Bas Eickhout is the lead rapporteur on the file.

In 2015 the Dutch government was a sponsor of the Amsterdam Declaration in support of a “fully sustainable” palm oil supply chain by 2020.

France and Sweden last week were reported to have called for "no discrimination” against palm oil as their ministers carried out trade missions in South East Asia, stoking fears that member states will try and weaken or ditch the EU Parliament’s proposal to exclude the commodity from RED II.