International Sustainable Palm Oil Forum (ISPOF)

The International Sustainable Palm Oil Forum (ISPOF) is a forum that seeks to promote ideas, insights and impact on sustainable palm oil and sustainable trade. Palm oil is the world’s most widely-used and most productive oil crop, with the three biggest palm oil producers coming from Southeast Asia. It accounts for almost half of the food items in the United Kingdom and Europe. The UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is an opportunity to strengthen economic and trade relations with Asia-Pacific, particularly Malaysia. Therefore, the theme of the Forum is “Advancing Sustainable Trade and Partnerships in the Asia Pacific.”

The UK and Malaysia are poised to see significant trade growth opportunities through the CPTPP. The removal of the tariffs is a win-win for both nations, particularly for the British consumers and palm oil producers in Malaysia. This opportunity strengthens an already robust UK-Malaysia relations, buttressed by strong cultural, economic, political and security cooperation. The bilateral trade between the both countries reached about US$48 billion in 2021 with palm oil products accounting for US$ 2.49 billion. A possible EU-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement augurs well for a longstanding UK-Malaysia partnership.

There are however challenges with the misperceptions regarding the environmental impact of palm oil production, particularly in Malaysia and Indonesia. The palm oil industry faces significant opposition from anti-palm oil lobby groups and discriminatory regulatory measures such as the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and Renewable Energy Directive (REDII). These regulations unfairly target palm oil, but they fail to acknowledge the significant progress made by palm oil-producing countries towards sustainability through various certification programs such as MSPO and RSPO.

ISPOF will be a platform to promote discourse on sustainable trade, including palm oil. It hopes to educate consumers on the facts of sustainable palm oil – health benefits, environmental impact and economic opportunities.

For further enquiries or registration please email to
Mr Zaim Mohzani at zaim@kasi.asia