KUCHING: About 65% of the 3.2 million tonnes of global certified sustainable palm oil come from Malaysia, said a RSPO (Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil) executive director Jeremy Goon Kin Wai.

He said the remaining 35% was contributed by Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

“Certified sustainable palm oil made up only 7% of the global palm oil production of 45 million tonnes last year,’’ he said at the presentation of RSPO certificate to Keresa Plantations Sdn Bhd yesterday.

Goon, also Wilmar International Ltd corporate social responsibility group head, said Indonesian plantation companies found it more difficult to get RSPO certification because their plantations were younger.

He said producers in South America, like Brazil, were trying to obtain RSPO certification, adding that demand for certified sustainable palm oil now came mainly from European buyers.

Goon said the RSPO certification was significant as it was a standard involving the best management practices of plantations accepted by multinational corporations.

According to BSI Group Asean managing director Alwi Abdul Hafiz, India and China are the biggest importers of palm oil.

He said that in India, palm oil imports had risen exponentially over the last decade and now made up nearly 50% of its total vegetable oil consumption.

This growth trend, he added, was duplicated in China which had become the world’s second largest palm oil consumer.

Source: The Star