Yahoo News 5 May 10;
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Palm oil producers from Malaysia said Wednesday they had formed a coalition with their counterparts in Indonesia to counter intensified campaigns that blame the industry for rapid deforestation.
The Indonesia-Malaysia Palm Oil Group brings together six organisations from the two countries, which account for 85 percent of global production.
They said they had come together after being attacked by non-government organisations (NGOs) for causing deforestation and threatening the survival of endangered species.
"The group will enable us to get together to defend some allegations that were made by the NGOs," Mamat Salleh, chief executive of the Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA), a member of the new group, told AFP.
"(The NGOs) have even influenced some of the big companies to boycott (the use of palm oil). It's getting serious, we are not as bad as portrayed by those people," he said.
Palm oil, which is used extensively across the globe for biofuel, processed food and toiletries, is a key export for the two nations, earning them more than 25 billion dollars in total last year.
As well as the MPOA, the coalition includes the Indonesian Palm Oil Association, the Association of Plantation Investors of Malaysia in Indonesia and the Indonesia Oil Palm Smallholders Association.
It also includes the Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners Association and Federal Land Development Authority.
The announcement comes after Indonesian producer Sinar Mas was dropped by high-profile clients following allegations it was not following environmentally sound practices.
In a statement, the coalition -- which was formed at an industry meeting in Malaysia on Monday -- said they agreed "to engage with the existing Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) for a more practical scheme".
The RSPO was formed in 2004 to establish stringent social and environmental criteria including a ban on clearing forests in order to plant the crop.
The MPOA's Mamat did not elaborate on the "practical scheme" or whether the group will shun the RSPO, but said "we will decide what we want to do".
Sinar Mas has been hit hard by campaigners after Anglo-Dutch multinational Unilever and Switzerland's Nestle this year dropped it as a supplier in response to protests by Greenpeace.
And in March US food company Cargill asked Sinar Mas to respond to Greenpeace's allegations and sought an investigation by the RSPO.
The environmental group accused the producer of wiping out rainforests and destroying endangered orangutan habitats. Sinar Mas has rejected the claims.
Unilever unit says Indonesia remains key palm oil supplier
Reuters 5 May 10;
JAKARTA, May 5 (Reuters) - The Indonesian unit of Unilever (ULVR.L) (UNc.AS), the world's top palm oil buyer, on Wednesday said it gets 65 percent of its palm oil from Indonesia despite halting purchases from a unit of market leader Sinar Mas Group.
Unilever, which uses palm oil in such products as Dove soap and Ben & Jerry ice cream, cancelled its annual 20 million pound ($30.27 million) contract with one of its Indonesian suppliers, PT SMART (SMAR.JK) in December. SMART is part of Sinar Mas Group, Indonesia's biggest palm oil producer.
The move prompted speculation that Unilever might cut palm oil purchases from other Indonesian suppliers, but a spokeswoman for the company said it was still buying from Indonesia.
"About 65 percent of palm oil bought by Unilever worldwide comes from Indonesia. We only stopped buying from SMART but we are still buying from other Indonesian suppliers," said Maria Dewantini Dwianto, a spokeswoman for PT Unilever Indonesia (UNVR.JK).
SMART had shipped some palm oil cargoes up to April to fulfil an agreement made ahead of Unilever's decision to stop purchasing from SMART, Dwianto added.
Other palm oil suppliers in Indonesia include Musim Mas and an Indonesia unit of Singapore-listed Wilmar (WLIL.SI), she added.
Unilever consumes about 1.9 million tonnes of palm oil each year -- of which about four-fifths comes from Indonesia and Malaysia -- and has pledged to buy only from certified sustainable plantations from 2015.
Greenpeace has alleged that Sinar Mas, Indonesia's biggest palm oil producer and the second-biggest in the world, has been responsible for widespread deforestation and peatland clearance, practices which release vast amounts of carbon dioxide.
PT SMART and PT Unilever Indonesia agreed to appoint two independent auditors -- Netherlands-based Control Union Certification (CUC) and British Standard institute -- last month to investigate the environmental allegations.
SMART's president director, Daud Dharsono, has said that the independent auditors would complete their study by the end of June.
The allegations by Greenpeace prompted Nestle (NESN.VX) to stop buying palm oil from Sinar Mas, while agribusiness giant Cargill Inc [CARG.UL] has also threatened to remove Sinar Mas as a palm oil supplier. ($1=.6606 Pound) (Reporting by Telly Nathalia; Editing by Yoko Nishikawa and Sara Webb)
