COLOMBO / MUMBAI (Reuters) – Sri Lanka on Monday banned the import of palm oil and new palm plantations and told producers to phase out existing plantations, in a surprise that baffled the edible oil industry.
Palm oil imports and the number of plantations have increased in recent years in Sri Lanka, one of the main producers of coconut oil.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said in a statement that the aim was to “free the country from oil palm plantations and palm oil consumption”.
Environmentalists say palm oil production has led to widespread deforestation and damage to ecosystems.
Sri Lanka imports about 200,000 tons of palm oil each year, mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, according to traders.
“The companies and entities that have made these crops (palm oil) will have to eliminate them gradually with 10% of the start at the same time and replace it with rubber cultivation or environmentally friendly crops every year “, states the statement of said the office of the President.
Sri Lanka’s palm oil industry has invested 26 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($ 131 million) and the country has about 11,000 hectares of palm plantations, just over 1% of the total area planted with tea, rubber and coconut, according to the country’s Palm estimates. Petroleum Industry Association.
($ 1 = 199,0000 Sri Lankan rupees)
Reports of Waruna Karunatilake in COLOMBO and Rajendra Jadhav in MUMBAI. Edited by Mark Potter