Malaysian Palm Oil Council seeks low-risk status from EU amid delay in landmark anti-deforestation law

now postponed by 12 months, the council said in a statement. The council also calls on the EU “to ensure that smallholder farmers are not excluded from international supply chains as a result of disproportionate compliance requirements”, said MPOC chief executive officer Belvinder Kaur Sron. The EU pushed the application deadline amid operational and technical challenges. The new timeline now falls on Dec 30, 2026 for large operators and traders, while micro and small enterprises will have until June 30, 2027 to comply. The law, also known as the EUDR, bans the import, export, and trade within the bloc of certain commodities and products linked to deforestation or forest degradation after Dec 31, 2020. The goal was said to ensure EU consumption does not contribute to global forest loss, a major driver of climate change and biodiversity loss. The regulation has faced resistance from major supplier countries including Malaysia, the world’s top producer after Indonesia, as well as ...