The European Union is phasing out palm oil

Since 2020, France has no longer used palm oil as biodiesel raw material, and has abolished the preferential tax policy on palm oil products. With the European Union gradually strengthening the control of palm oil commonly used in cosmetic raw materials, the industry needs to step up the formulation of coping strategies.

France passed a law on 9 December last year that no longer uses palm oil as biodiesel raw material in France since 2020, and abolished the preferential tax policy on palm oil products. Norway also plans to phase out the use of palm oil by the end of 2020. In addition, other European Union countries are gradually beginning to stop using palm oil.Biodiesel is a renewable and clean energy with similar performance to petroleum and diesel oil. As a representative vegetable oil, palm oil is inexpensive. Why would the EU ban it? As early as 2015, the EU signed the declaration to stop biodiesel. "ENVI Report Recommendation" for Palm Oil Use in Raw Materials. The report points out that extraction of palm oil not only causes socio-economic problems by destroying tropical rainforests, but also causes climate change. After the adoption of the resolution, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and other six European Union countries signed the Amsterdam Declaration No. 1, declaring that by 2020, they will fight against illegal destruction of forests for palm oil production.

On the other hand, the withdrawal of palm oil in EU countries will have a far-reaching impact on the economy of palm oil producing countries.

Indonesia and Malaysia are the main producers of palm oil. The output of palm oil accounts for about 85% of the world's total. The rest is produced in Thailand, Colombia and Nigeria.

KOTRA Kuala Lumpur Trade Museum said that the production of palm oil is related to the livelihood of about 3 million Malaysians. Stopping the use of palm oil in biodiesel has worsened the relationship between EU and Malaysia and is becoming an obstacle to FTA negotiations.

If South Korea does not develop alternative raw materials from palm oil, products exported to the EU will have to be returned to their original destiny.

As avocado surpasses cannabis as the main source of profits for Mexican drug lords, people have launched a campaign against "bloody avocado", and its trend is attracting attention.

The famous Michelin restaurant Wild Strawberry Cafe in Buckinghamshire and the vegetarian restaurant Wildflower announced that they would no longer supply avocado. Shim Hyeongseok, president of NbspHouse Boutique, said, "It's time to pay attention to and abide by the ethics of raw materials and ingredients, just like the efforts made by domestic cosmetics enterprises for export. We need to develop alternative raw materials as an opportunity to seize the EU market first.