Indonesia presidential front-runner Prabowo criticises EU on deforestation

Indonesia presidential front-runner Prabowo criticises EU on deforestation
Indonesia presidential front-runner Prabowo criticises EU on deforestation

Hello and welcome to the details of Indonesia presidential front-runner Prabowo criticises EU on deforestation and now with the details

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Indonesia's defence minister and presidential candidate, Prabowo Subianto said he rejected protectionism. — Reuters pic

JAKARTA, Nov 13 — Indonesia’s presidential front-runner Prabowo Subianto today criticised the European Union over its ban on palm oil imports and said Europeans during colonial times were also guilty of deforestation.

The EU in April passed a law which would ban imports of commodities linked to forest destruction, including palm oil of which Indonesia is the world’s biggest producer.

Prabowo, who is leading opinion polls ahead of a presidential election next February, said Indonesia maintains “good” relations with Europe “although we have problems sometimes with the European Union”.

“We open our market to you,” he said, citing Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen vehicles as examples. “But you won’t allow us to sell palm oil, and now we have problems trying to sell coffee, tea, cocoa,” he told a forum organised by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta.

Advertisement

The European Union said in an email that it could not comment on statements by Indonesia’s political candidates.

“This Regulation is for everyone, in and outside Europe. It applies to commodities, not countries, and is neither punitive nor protectionist, but creates a level playing field,” it said, adding it engages partners “so we can continue trade, but without deforestation.”

Until the ban, the EU was the third-largest buyer of Indonesian palm oil.

Advertisement

Palm oil production is often blamed by environmentalists for deforestation but Prabowo said that during colonial rule, Europeans forced Indonesians to plant tea, coffee, rubber and cocoa and “you destroyed our forests before.”

Indonesia was a Dutch colony when it was known as the Dutch East Indies and an important source of wealth, thanks to the trade in spices.

Prabowo said that if he wins the presidency: “I don’t want protectionism, I want an equal playing field.”

Indonesia is a major producer of coffee, cocoa, rubber and timber products and about 6 billion euros ($6.41 billion) of its annual exports will be affected by the EU’s deforestation law, its chief economic minister has said.

The EU, Indonesia and neighbouring Malaysia, the world’s second-largest palm oil producer, have formed a task force to discuss the law. ($1 = 0.9360 euros) (Reporting by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Susan Fenton)

These were the details of the news Indonesia presidential front-runner Prabowo criticises EU on deforestation for this day. We hope that we have succeeded by giving you the full details and information. To follow all our news, you can subscribe to the alerts system or to one of our different systems to provide you with all that is new.

It is also worth noting that the original news has been published and is available at Malay Mail and the editorial team at AlKhaleej Today has confirmed it and it has been modified, and it may have been completely transferred or quoted from it and you can read and follow this news from its main source.

PREV Kremlin says Paris did not inform it of Russian suspect’s arrest
NEXT US military raises alert level for Europe bases: reports

Author Information

I am Jeff King and I’m passionate about business and finance news with over 4 years in the industry starting as a writer working my way up into senior positions. I am the driving force behind Al-KhaleejToday.NET with a vision to broaden the company’s readership throughout 2016. I am an editor and reporter of “Financial” category. Address: 383 576 Gladwell Street Longview, TX 75604, USA Phone: (+1) 903-247-0907 Email: [email protected]