JAKARTA (Commodity Online): The future of Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) appears bleak as the Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA)had warned the certification association on the low uptake of certified palm oil by the members.
According to Boon Weng Siew, Vice-Chairman, MPOA , only 40% of the RSPO certified palm oil was bought by processors which has also affected the producers as the premium on the certified palm oil was low, not meeting the production cost.reported World Growth.
Gabungan Pengusaha Kelapa Sawit Indonesia (GAPKI) has withdrawn its membership from RSPO (including its position on the Executive Body, Working Groups and Task Forces) to support the development of a new Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification standard.
According to GAPKI, the new Indonesian standard will become mandatory for all Indonesian producers. ISPO was officially launched in March 2011 and is currently being trialled across Indonesia. ISPO will become mandatory by 2014.
New government standards will provide government backing for the certification of sustainable palm oil based on Indonesia and Malaysia’s national laws and regulatory structure.
The development of government backed certification standards leaves RSPO facing the prospects of becoming a certification standard which is primarily representative of social and environmental NGOs and retailers.
Now RSPO has been left with two choices at the upcoming Roundtable and General Assembly – either prove to palm oil growers and producers that they are willing to actively advocate on behalf of the palm oil industry or allow itself to become a certification standard dominated by the interests of retailers and NGOs.
RSPO is a not-for-profit association that unites stakeholders from seven sectors of the palm oil industry - oil palm producers, palm oil processors or traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks and investors, environmental or nature conservation NGOs and social or developmental NGOs - to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil.
