KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 — The government has announced support for local oil palm smallholders to help them meet the new European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) deadline, which has been extended to December 30, 2025.
Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said the extension from the original 2024 deadline will help ensure that smallholders comply with global standards.
“Large corporations and estates manage 73 per cent of plantations in the country, while the rest are smallholders who require additional time and support from the government to comply with the EUDR,” he said during a press conference in conjunction with the Malaysian Palm Oil Forum Kuala Lumpur today.
Under the European Commission’s proposal, large companies would have until December 30, 2025, to comply with the deadline, while small and medium enterprises would have until June 30, 2026, with no fewer than 45 countries calling for a delay in the EUDR implementation.
The minister said the government will help smallholders comply in four aspects, namely deforestation-free, traceability, legitimate land title, and good labour practices.
Commenting further on the delay in the implementation of EUDR, Johari said the proposed phasing-in period would allow many producer countries to take the necessary steps to comply and rectify their policies.
“At the same time, critical issues such as creating transparent benchmarking criteria (when assessing the sustainability of palm oil production) would need to be closely looked over to not unfairly label producer countries as ‘high-risk’.
“We hope that the European Union (EU) Parliament will play a more accommodative role to address this matter for the world’s benefit,” he said in his keynote speech during the event.
Johari added that certain markets have introduced protectionist trade policies through environmental legislation which disproportionately targets certain agricultural commodity producers.
“These regulations may indirectly impede economic progress, especially those that rely on agricultural commodities as the main source of revenue to provide necessities for their citizens such as quality education, healthcare, and public infrastructures,” he said.
Meanwhile, the EU-Malaysia-Indonesia task force has completed a meeting recently and it is progressing well.
“Some countries need longer time to comply with the (EUDR) requirement but we are progressing,” Johari said.
Previously, concerns were raised by the industry regarding the lack of inclusive participation among the task force members, which led to the slower progress of the task force.
He also lauded the Malaysian palm oil sector, which has demonstrated positive growth in 2024, with palm oil production reaching 12.6 million tonnes in the first eight months of this year, marking a 10.2 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
“This significant growth can be attributed to consistent government policies and the resolution of key issues, such as labour shortages, that have significantly impacted the industry in recent years.
“If this upward trend continues, we are on track to exceed 19 million tonnes in production this year, which would be the highest output since 2020,” Johari said.
The palm oil sector contributes approximately three per cent to Malaysia’s gross domestic product and generates an export value of over US$22 billion (RM93.5 billion).
— Bernama
