NEWS IN BRIEF EGYPT: A commodities exchange for wheat, oils, sugar and rice is being set up in Egypt, Reuters reported on 9 September. The exchange would have 91M Egyptian pounds (US$5.78M) in capital, provide protection for small farmers and producers, and make their stocks available to the wider market, the supply ministry in Egypt was quoted as saying. Farmers, traders and producers could deposit their stocks in any of the supply ministry’s certified storage facilities where they would be evaluated and graded, then directly traded on the electronic platform, Reuters reported.
FGV palm oil products to be detained at US ports The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office has issued a detention order on palm oil made by Malaysia’s FGV Holdings Berhad, based on information indicating the use of forced labour, the agency said on 30 September. Effective from 30 September, palm oil and palm oil products made by FGV Holdings and its subsidiaries and joint ventures would be detained at all US ports of entry, according to a CBP press release. “CBP’s Office of Trade directed the issue of a Withhold Release Order (WRO) against FGV palm oil and palm oil products based on information that reasonably indicated the use of forced labour. “The order followed a year-long investigation revealing forced labour indicators including abuse of vulnerability, deception, restriction of movement, isolation, physical and sexual violence, intimidation and threats, retention of
identity documents, withholding of wages, debt bondage, abusive working and living conditions and excessive overtime. The investigation also raised concerns that forced child labour was potentially being used.” In response, FGV said in a press release on 1 October that all the issues raised had been the subject of public discourse since 2015 and it had taken several steps to correct the situation. “FGV is not involved in any recruitment or employment of refugees. Effective 2020, FGV recruits its migrant workers mainly from India and Indonesia through legal channels and processes recognised and approved by the authorities of Malaysia and the source countries." FGV said that since August 2019, it had been communicating with CBP through legal counsel and had submitted evidence of compliance of labour standards.
US confectionery and food giant Mars claims it has eliminated deforestation from its palm oil supply chain, Greenbiz reported on 7 October. The producer of Mars and Snickers chocolate bars, Dolmio pasta sauce and Uncle Ben’s rice made the announcement as part of its Palm Positive Plan, which it launched in 2019. Mars said it had simplified its supply chain by shrinking the number of mills it worked with from 1,500 to a few hundred. This number was expected to be reduced to less than 100 in 2021 and below 50 in 2022. The company said it had used satellite mapping to mon-
Photo: Adobe Stock
Mars says palm oil supply chain is deforestation free
Mars produces chocolate bars such as Mars, Snickers and Twix
itor land use with third-party validation through its partnership with Earth Equalizer/Aidenvironment. This allowed it to
take evidence-based action to simplify and select the suppliers and mills it sourced from. One example was in its
supply chain to its Asia-Pacific businesses, where it sourced palm oil from UniFuji – a partnership between United Plantations and Fuji Oil – which had reduced operations from 780 mills to just one. This had been achieved through a 1:1:1 model – which meant oil palm was grown on one plantation, and processed through one mill and one refinery before reaching Mars. The Palm Positive Plan is part of the company’s US$1bn Sustainable in a Generation Plan, where it was working to stop deforestation in beef, cocoa, palm oil, soya, and pulp and paper.
WTO approves $4bn tariffs on US goods into Europe The World Trade Organization has ruled that the EU may impose tariffs of up to US$4bn on goods imported from the USA, Olive Oil Times reported on 15 October. The decision brings an end to a 16-year dispute between the USA and the EU over illegal subsidies provided to their respective aircraft manufacturers, which has affected Spanish olive oil producers. In the WTO’s latest ruling, the USA was found to have illegally subsidised the 4 OFI – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
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American aircraft manufacturer Boeing. A WTO ruling a year ago found that the EU had illegally subsidised its own aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, allowing the USA to impose tariffs of US$7.5bn on European imports. This included 25% import duties on packaged olive oil from Spain, as well as some table olives from France and Spain. On its part, the EU had identified several US industrial and agricultural goods as potential tariff targets, Olive Oil Times said.
Trade experts had widely expected the WTO’s announcement saying that this result had been necessary for the two sides to begin negotiations. European trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said the EU hoped the USA would now drop the tariffs imposed on EU exports as this would help both sides find common ground. “If this does not happen, we will be forced to exercise our rights and impose similar tariffs,” he added. www.ofimagazine.com
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