REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – The Indonesian government will visit the US on March 23 to explain its crude palm oil (CPO) and its derivatives, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Rusman Heriawan, said on Monday. Those products of Indonesia triggered controversial issues after the US considered them below the standard.

Indonesia will invite Malaysia to hold a joint meeting to explain the CPO issues. Heriawan argued, Indonesian CPO and its derivatives were above the standard imposed by the US. Though, he did not elaborate further to mention the number.

The greenhouse emissions produced by Indonesian CPO has been assessed according to independent research domestically and internationally. “It is more than 20, far higher than US requirement,” he added optimistically. “If the US still rejects it, then the reason is not supported by science,” he said.

The General Director of Processing and Marketing of Agricultural Products (P2HP), Zaenal Bachruddin, said the stakeholders had agreed to give the alternative analysis to US. “Indonesia has implemented the environmental friendly policy by issuing a policy on Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) valid from March.

The Notice of Data Availability (NODA) released by Environment Protection Agency (EPA) was from 2007 data which cited that Indonesia had not had moratorium policy on area, Bachruddin said. The old data predicted Indonesia would use forest and turf area on 2020.

The US is also questioning the recycle system on palm waste by Indonesia. On the other hand, Indonesia stresses that its recycle system is adequate to absorb the carbon dioxide (CO2). “If the US cannot accept our argument, then we will go the World Trade Organization (WTO),” Bachruddin added.

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