Can China Shift to Sustainable Palm Oil?

Business News/Analysis, China, Feedstocks, Field/Orchard/Plantation Crops/Residues, Indonesia, Malaysia, Opinions, Policy, Sustainability

December 13, 2019

Print This Article Share it With Friends

(China Dialogue/Future Fuel Strategies) … But the positive changes have been more than negated by growth in demand for unsustainable palm oil from other markets. No country plays a larger role than China, the chief destination for Indonesian exports and among the top consumers of palm oil. Imports of palm oil into China have grown more than three-fold since 2000, with the country importing 6.3 million tonnes in 2019. Demand is currently growing by about 10% annually, according to the RSPO.

China’s recent move to reduce import quotas and tariffs on Indonesian palm oil is expected to increase demand further.

…

“China’s attitude towards sustainable palm oil will have a significant impact on the global supply chain,” said Darrel Weber, CEO of RSPO. “We are at the critical point of protecting biodiversity, tackling climate change and deforestation and solving social problems.”

That’s why the RSPO, WWF China, Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) China, and others, launched the China Sustainable Palm Oil Alliance (CSPOA) last July. Six major brands are now members, including AAK, Cargill China, HSBC, L’Oréal China, Mars and MingFai Group.

“We saw the potential role of palm oil key stakeholders in China to take the lead in making sustainable palm oil a norm,” said Fei Li, CDP China’s Forests Program Manager.

Member brands of CSPOA have committed to sourcing sustainable palm oil and hope their stance encourages other buyers of imported palm oil to implement best practices too. Their initial goal is to make sure that 10% of all palm oil imports are certified as sustainably sourced.

“We and other members made commitments to promote the adoption of sustainable palm oil in the Chinese markets,” said Charlene Lin, sustainable sourcing manager at Mars Wrigley China. “Hopefully as more and more industry players join the CSPOA, there will be more uptake and that will drive an industry transformation.” READ MORE

Comments are closed.

Advanced BioFuels USA