He said there was no ban for palm oil going into EU. The misunderstanding, said Laplanche, could have been triggered by the current situation that France and EU were gradually withdrawing subsidies for palm oil as a biofuel.“There will be no ban against palm oil in Europe. This is one of the elements of our relationships with Malaysia and Indonesia.
Laplanche was among a two-member panel who included German Ambassador to Malaysia Nikolaus Graf Lambsdorff. “Apart from that, palm oil makes up roughly five per cent of Malaysia’s export to the EU. The rest are growing very quickly and very large. He, however, said it was imperative for Malaysia to continue to improve its policies in order to become a top investment destination among foreign multinationals.