Spain rejects move to discriminate palm oil

Bilateral meeting: Mah (right) in a bilateral meeting with delegates from the Spanish Ministry of International Trade, chaired by State Secretary of International Trade Maria Poncela Garcia (left row, in the centre). The meeting comes as part of the Malaysia–EU Oil Palm Negotiation Mission. Malaysia’s Ambassador to Spain Zainal Abidin Bakar (on Mah’s right) was also part of the Malaysian delegation.

PETALING JAYA: The Spanish government is rejecting any move leading to the discrimination of palm oil, following bilateral meetings with Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong.

The stance is based on premises that the adaptation of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED) could have negative repercussion towards Spain’s own biofuel industry and it does not adhere to the fair trade regulations in accordance to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).