Secretary General of the Ministry of Trade Karyanto Suprih stated here, Friday, that Frances plan would be discussed with the relevant ministries and agencies.
"Maybe, now it is environmental issues, but tomorrow it could be different. The government will take steps and prepare a few options," Karyanto said.
French Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot recently revealed that his government would restrict the import of palm oil for biofuels raw material to reduce deforestation in the countries from where the product came.
France also had a discussion on imposing a super-tax on palm oil, which was regulated in Amendment No. 367 and was adopted by the French Legislative High Council in January 2016.
In 2016, France imported 1.1 million tons of biodiesel containing palm oil. That figure has increased compared with the 300,000 tons imported in 2010.
Karyanto affirmed the ministry would continue to protect national interests, and it was ready to take up the issue with the Dispute Settlement Body World Trade Organization (DSB WTO).
"We will prepare short-term and long-term measures. If we have to solve the problem at WTO, we will do it," Karyanto stresssed.
The Indonesian government also plans to hold talks with Malaysia, the second largest CPO producer, at international forums.
The data from the Association of Indonesian Palm Oil Companies, showed that the export of crude palm oil and its derivatives from Indonesia to the world in 2016 amounted to 21.5 million tons, and contributed about US$18.1 billion towards the nations foreign exchange.
(KR-LWA/INE/B003)
EDITED BY INE.
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
