India’s move towards sustainable palm oil usage
June 11th, 2021
India spent $480 billion on imports making it one of the most important markets for countries that sell to India. Notable within India’s top imports is organic chemicals for agriculture and edible oils. Recent reports on edible oils shows that the country needs 25 million tonnes of edible oils to meet the requirements of its citizens. Out of the total requirement, only 40 per cent is produced domestically from primary and secondary sources with the remaining 60 per cent is met through import. The plans for self-reliance have identified oil palm as the best crop towards achieving this. This news has met with some criticism that palm oil expansion will threaten its forests and natural environment based on the palm oil experience from Indonesia and Malaysia. As the palm oil industries mature in Indonesia and Malaysia, both countries have taken bold steps to ensure its sustainability. Malaysia has put a cap on its land-use at 6.5 million hectares. Indonesia has declared a moratorium on new palm oil developments and is reviewing licenses that were issued previously to make sure their environmental impact is not overly heavy. To prove the sustainability of their palm oil production, Malaysia and Indonesia have created mandatory certification schemes in the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) and Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) respectively to meet the demands of their buyers. There is a wealth of knowledge that India can tap into from the knowledge of the MSPO and ISPO to make its domestic palm oil production sustainable. The initiative, Indian Palm Oil Sustainability framework (IPOS) which was created for the Indian palm oil industry by Indian palm oil stakeholders includes The Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) and the Society for Promotion of Oil Palm Research and Development as well as global non-profit Solidaridad.
More News
May 05th, 2023
March 31st, 2023
November 28th, 2022
August 04th, 2022
June 28th, 2022
March 15th, 2022
March 02nd, 2022
January 21st, 2022
November 13th, 2021
November 09th, 2021
October 19th, 2021
October 15th, 2021
October 11th, 2021
September 27th, 2021
June 24th, 2021
June 07th, 2021
February 09th, 2021
January 12th, 2021
December 03rd, 2020
October 05th, 2020
September 04th, 2020