Indonesia welcomes exclusion of palm oil from EU's danger list

Indonesian palm oil producers have hailed the removal of palm oil and its derivatives products exported by Indonesia from the European Union's (EU) danger list, a paper said Friday.

The move is part of a revision of the European Commission's Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH).

"This is good news. It means tests on content and certification declaring absence of dangerous substances will no longer be needed, " Purboyo Guritno, the head of foreign affairs of the Association of Indonesian Palm Oil Producers (Gapki) was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying.

Purboyo said the move was correct as palm oil could be used for a variety of purposes.

"Palm oil is not only used in food products but also for products such as oleochemicals for making soaps, fatty acids, fatty alcohol and glycerine," he said.

Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu also welcomes the decision as good news for Indonesian palm oil exporters.

"It is more about chemical content. So, in view of the Reach regulation, the chemical content of palm oil is declared safe," she said.

Since the REACH rules were issued on Dec. 18, 2006, the government had lobbied the European Commission on the matter.

The implementation of the regulation as of June 1, 2008, caused worries among exporters of products processed using chemicals, such as batik cloth, furniture, handicrafts, toys and footwear.

Indonesia is the world's biggest producer of palm oil, with much of the commodity exported to the Europe.

Source: Xinhua