JAKARTA – Negative campaigns citing palm oil as non-healthy products have been emerging in India and Pakistan, which are the largest importers of palm oil from Indonesia. Sadly, the campaigns are initiated by the millenials and a number of celebrities in the two South Asian countries through both online and offline media.

The bad news was revealed by the Indonesian Palm Oil Association’s (GAPKI) Media Relations Division Head Fenny Sofyan during a public discussion organized by the Agricultural Journalists Forum (Forwatan) in Jakarta on Thursday (4/07/2024).

Fenny said that previously only a number of European countries grouped in European Union (EU) which are known to have launched negative campaigns against palm oil. “But now such negative campaigns have spread into India and Pakistan.

“We know that India and Pakistan are the biggest importers of palm oil from Indonesia. It saddens us to know that the millenials of the two countries have become anti-palm oil.  Apparently, they are influenced by the negative campaigns launched by a number of supermarkets in India and Pakistan,” said Fenny .

According to Fenny, the anti-palm oil campaigns have been triggered by the 2nd Sustainability Vegetable Oil Conference (SVOC) in Mumbai, India, in September 2023. Since then, there have been negative advertisements and banners which wrongly describe the impacts of palm oil to human health.

“So, their campaigns there are more about health impacts. Such awareness may have been aroused during the breakout of Covid-19 pandemic, especially among Indian youngsters,” said Fenny.

Fenny calls on all palm oil stakeholders to take necessary steps soon to deal with the negative campaigns. “We shouldn’t allow it unaddressed,” said Fenny. (*)

Source: sawitku.id