MORE than 500 smallholders in Malaysia signed a petition urging the European Union to review its deforestation-free regulation (EUDR), saying it is discriminatory. 

Six representatives of the palm oil sector sent the petition to an EU delegation to Malaysia today.

The representatives were from the Federal Land Development Authority, National Association of Smallholders Malaysia (NASM), Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority, Sarawak Dayak Oil Palm Planters Association, Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority, and Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority.

The petition, among others, seeks the EU’s endorsement of the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil Certification Scheme (MSPO), and the removal of Malaysia from the list of countries at risk if the EUDR is implemented. 

NASM deputy president Adzmi Hassan said Malaysia has an excellent record in forest protection and sustainable production. 

“The mandatory MSPO certification ensures Malaysia’s commitment to sustainability standards that covers various aspects,” he said at a press conference after the EUDR Impact on Smallholders and Malaysian Industry town hall session at Menara Felda today.

He said Malaysia being labelled a high-risk country will downplay the government’s effort to protect the environment. 

The six agencies said smallholders are collectively calling on the EU to stop discrimination and unfair protectionist actions contained in the EUDR, as it affects the livelihoods of smallholders who depend on income from palm oil and rubber exports to the EU.

“Hundreds of thousands of smallholders in Malaysia depend on palm oil and rubber export earnings to secure the future and survival of local communities. 

“The EUDR has placed undue and unfair burdens and terms on smallholders, which will limit the market for their produce in the European Union, particularly with the unilateral and unrealistic EUDR demands on the traceability and geolocation of where products are produced.

“This will affect the living standards and income of communities, thereby diverting from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” he said. 

Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof reportedly said the implementation of the EUDR will increase production costs and affect the competitiveness of commodity-based products.

Fadillah, who also holds the plantation and commodities portfolio, said his ministry sees the EUDR as a non-tariff measure on agri-commodity products covering Malaysia’s main commodities, including palm oil, rubber, cocoa and wood. 

He said when the EUDR is implemented, commodity products imported by the EU must be free from deforestation activities that occurred after December 31, 2020. – Bernama, March 15, 2023.