‘Controls on biofuel use will misfire’

Singapore: Franky Widjaja, head of one of the world’s biggest palm plantation companies, warns that the European Union’s (EU) plans to restrict use of the tropical oil in biofuel will misfire as the move will hurt growers and jeopardise future supplies of the vegetable oil.

The world needs palm oil as supplies from alternative oilseeds just won’t be enough to meet rising demand for food and fuel, said the chairman and chief executive officer of Singapore-based Golden Agri-Resources Ltd, and scion of one of Indonesia’s richest families.