Agricultural producers must not damage environment
KUCHING: Agricultural producers must ensure they do not damage the environment, said Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui.
He said this was vital as countries, particularly those in Europe, had made it a requirement that imported food had to come from producers who were not causing damage to the environment.
“Environment has become an increasingly important issue in food production,” he added when asked on his recent weeklong mission to Europe to counter anti-palm oil lobbyists in the European Union.
Chin said although governments were not allowed to use trade barriers or tariffs on imported food, as this was against World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, they were using non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to lobby companies, like big supermarket chains, not to import food which was not produced with care to the environment.
He said NGOs in Europe were using the Orang Utan issue to campaign against palm oil from Malaysia as they alleged that deforestation and forest fires in land clearing had threatened the survival of the animal.
Chin said it was now a very clear trend that consumers, particularly in Europe, expected food producing countries not only to supply quality and safe food but also to take good care of the environment in the production process.
Source:
The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)
