POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - An unlikely hero has emerged by coming to the rescue of supermarket chain Iceland, after the company’s head Richard Walker announced a return to using palm oil due to the scarcity of sunflower oil.
In 2018, Iceland became the first UK supermarket to remove palm oil as an ingredient in its products. However, it is now reversing its decision and reverting to using palm oil because of “the unexpected consequences of war”, the title of a recent blog post by Walker.
In the blog post, Walker wrote that this move is “one particular unintended consequence of war”, given that Russia and Ukraine account for 70% of the global supply chain of sunflower oil.
“In many cases we can substitute rapeseed oil, but there are some recipes where the only viable substitute for sunflower oil - either because of its processing properties or taste issues - turns out to be palm oil,” he explained.
World’s largest palm oil producer reacts
A top Indonesian official who deals with Indonesian sustainable commodities at international fora reacted to Iceland’s about-face by arguing that palm oil exports to Iceland and other similar European consumers should now be ceased.
“This is a good time to stop exporting palm oil to Iceland and the like in European markets. They didn't want palm oil before, and now with the high price of palm oil globally, exporters do not need European markets at all,” the official told FORESTHINTS.NEWS in writing (Apr 3).
"I understand the narrative (as outlined in the Iceland blog). However, now is a good time to tell Europe, especially the Iceland chain and others like it, that we don’t need to export to them anymore, regardless of the fact that Indonesian palm oil is sustainable,” the statement continued.
According to the official, the Indonesian palm oil industry can ignore European markets with confidence in light of the 250% rise in the price of palm oil and the remarkably strong demand for Indonesian palm oil exports from China, India and Africa.
"In addition, we are prioritizing increasing domestic demand for cooking oil, biofuel and downstreaming. With our existing export capacity and considering the current high global price of palm oil, there is no reason to export to countries which routinely denigrate palm oil," the official wrote.
“Now is time to prove that the Indonesian palm oil industry does not rely on European markets, even if they need our palm oil," the official asserted.
“Our primary forest and peatland conversion moratorium map covers an area larger than 2.5 times the size of the UK. Furthermore, Indonesia has greatly reduced deforestation and wildfires in recent years,” the official stated.
In contrast, the statement continued, wildfires in Europe over the last two years have ravaged areas 10 times greater than has happened in Indonesia. Meanwhile, the US and Australia have had areas 25 times and 100 times greater than Indonesia respectively destroyed by fires.
“All our achievements have been made for our nation and our people, not to reach European markets. We need to convey this strong message to them,” the official wrote to conclude his statement.
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POLICY
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - An unlikely hero has emerged by coming to the rescue of supermarket chain Iceland, after the company’s head Richard Walker announced a return to using palm oil due to the scarcity of sunflower oil.
In 2018, Iceland became the first UK supermarket to remove palm oil as an ingredient in its products. However, it is now reversing its decision and reverting to using palm oil because of “the unexpected consequences of war”, the title of a recent blog post by Walker.
In the blog post, Walker wrote that this move is “one particular unintended consequence of war”, given that Russia and Ukraine account for 70% of the global supply chain of sunflower oil.
“In many cases we can substitute rapeseed oil, but there are some recipes where the only viable substitute for sunflower oil - either because of its processing properties or taste issues - turns out to be palm oil,” he explained.
World’s largest palm oil producer reacts
A top Indonesian official who deals with Indonesian sustainable commodities at international fora reacted to Iceland’s about-face by arguing that palm oil exports to Iceland and other similar European consumers should now be ceased.
“This is a good time to stop exporting palm oil to Iceland and the like in European markets. They didn't want palm oil before, and now with the high price of palm oil globally, exporters do not need European markets at all,” the official told FORESTHINTS.NEWS in writing (Apr 3).
"I understand the narrative (as outlined in the Iceland blog). However, now is a good time to tell Europe, especially the Iceland chain and others like it, that we don’t need to export to them anymore, regardless of the fact that Indonesian palm oil is sustainable,” the statement continued.
According to the official, the Indonesian palm oil industry can ignore European markets with confidence in light of the 250% rise in the price of palm oil and the remarkably strong demand for Indonesian palm oil exports from China, India and Africa.
"In addition, we are prioritizing increasing domestic demand for cooking oil, biofuel and downstreaming. With our existing export capacity and considering the current high global price of palm oil, there is no reason to export to countries which routinely denigrate palm oil," the official wrote.
“Now is time to prove that the Indonesian palm oil industry does not rely on European markets, even if they need our palm oil," the official asserted.
“Our primary forest and peatland conversion moratorium map covers an area larger than 2.5 times the size of the UK. Furthermore, Indonesia has greatly reduced deforestation and wildfires in recent years,” the official stated.
In contrast, the statement continued, wildfires in Europe over the last two years have ravaged areas 10 times greater than has happened in Indonesia. Meanwhile, the US and Australia have had areas 25 times and 100 times greater than Indonesia respectively destroyed by fires.
“All our achievements have been made for our nation and our people, not to reach European markets. We need to convey this strong message to them,” the official wrote to conclude his statement.
RELATED STORIES
