KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) has urged the European Union (EU) to class Malaysia as a low-risk country, and to put in place transparent benchmarking criterias which accepts the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification scheme, as an effective compliance tool for The EU's 'Regulation on Deforestation-free Products'(EUDR).
MSPO is the world's first nationally mandated environmental standard enforceable by law.
It strengthens traceability across the entire supply chain by bringing operators, traders, and supply chain partners together to address deforestation, promote sustainability in the sector.
MPOC in a statement, welcomed the EU's decision to postpone its regulation on EUDR legislation for 12 months.
MPOC chief executive officer Belvinder Sron said the MSPO certification scheme has been unfairly overlooked by the EU, although it has contributed enormously to greater sustainability across the industry.
She noted that Malaysia achieved a 57 per cent reduction in primary forest loss as of 2022, demonstrating the success of government and industry initiatives to curb deforestation.
"The decline in deforestation reflects Malaysia's decision to refrain from expanding into new areas to prioritise environmental concerns, further strengthens the nation's position as a low-risk country under the EUDR's unilaterally imposed benchmarking system," she added.
The EUDR, which was due to come into full force on Dec 30 this year, requires companies to ensure that products sold in the EU are not sourced from deforested or degraded land.
However, the European Parliament voted to postpone the regulation and to include a four-tier classification system for countries based on risk levels.
Sron, however, is concerned over the introduction of a 'no risk' category in the four-tier classification system that could provide a convenient off-ramp for legislators to exempt domestic companies from the legislation, which would constitute two-tier protectionist policymaking.
"A two-tiered approach to regulation – protecting European companies while penalising their international trade partners – would send the wrong message to the world, given that countries like Malaysia have worked so hard to comply with EUDR," she said in the statement.
Sron called on the EU for greater cooperation and an open trading relationship.
"If EUDR is enforced incorrectly, environmental progress will be setback, destroying livelihoods, leading to increased poverty, increased costs for consumers and undermine the progress we have made in complying with EUDR," she said.