PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA – The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced a proposal to delay the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) for one year on Wednesday (2/10/2024). If approved by the European Parliament and the Council, the EUDR will come into force on December 30, 2025, for large companies, and June 30, 2026, for micro and small companies.
The Chairman of the National Union of Oil Palm Smallholders (SPKS), Sabarudin, believes that this delay is unnecessary. According to him, since June 29, 2023, the EUDR regulation has been in effect, giving enough time for business players to adapt to the regulation.
“Palm oil companies from producer countries like Indonesia have prepared themselves. Some companies have even prepared geospatial data of their planting areas. It means that the readiness to comply with EUDR is already there,” said Sabarudin in an official statement received by Palmoilmagazine.com on Monday (7/10/2024).
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Nevertheless, Sabarudin underlined the need for more support from the European Union and companies in the supply chain to help smallholders. “SPKS members are committed to zero deforestation and want to be part of the EU supply chain. However, until now the support and funding for palm oil smallholders is still very minimal. The European Union needs to strengthen the support and funding system for smallholders so that they can comply with the EUDR,” he said.
Furthermore, he emphasized the importance of smallholders’ involvement in the palm oil supply chain to the EU market. “Support from operators and companies to ensure smallholders are involved in their supply chains should be realized by strengthening traceability systems. This includes the provision of services such as assistance in polygon mapping and coordinate pointing of smallholder farms,” Sabarudin added.
The postponement of the implementation of the EUDR has drawn various responses from palm oil industry players, who consider the preparations to be adequate. However, palm oil smallholders hope that the postponement will become a momentum to strengthen support and funding, especially for smallholders so that they can be fully involved in global sustainable supply chains. (P3)