The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office has issued a detention order on palm oil produced by Malaysia's Sime Darby Plantation Berhad, based on information indicating the use of forced labor.
The order, effective December 30, is the second focusing on Malaysian palm oil. On September 30, CBP issued a similar order against Malaysia's FGV Holdings.
“The issuance of a Withhold Release Order (WRO) against Sime Darby Plantation's palm oil is based on information that reasonably indicates the presence of all 11 of the International Labor Organization's indicators of forced labor in Sime's production process. Darby Plantation,” CBP said in a statement on December 30.
“This order will require the detention at all U.S. ports of entry of crude palm oil and processed products containing palm oil produced by Sime Darby Plantation.”
Ana Hinojosa, executive director of CBP's trade defense directorate, told CNN that its most recent months-long investigation found evidence of debt bondage, poor living and working conditions, poor sanitation, manipulated wages and excessive overtime at Sime Darby Plantation (SDP).
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However, the plantation giant said the CBP press release did not provide enough information to meaningfully address the allegations.
“However, we look forward to receiving pertinent information and working with CBP to address their concerns and quickly resolve this matter,” the company said in a Dec. 31 press release.
“The SDP is committed to combating forced labor and has implemented robust policies to protect workers’ rights. These efforts include the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting Associates on October 19, 2020 to assist us in our commitment to continuous improvement. ”
Malaysia's plantation and commodities industry minister Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali was reported by Free Malaysia Today ( FMT ) as saying he disagreed with the action being taken without allowing the SDP to prove whether the allegation was unfounded.
Khairuddin acknowledged that there had been an incident of forced and child labor in the country's palm oil sector in the past, but it was an isolated case, based on research done in 2018, the report said. FMT of December 31th .
“If the allegations are true, the Malaysian government will take appropriate and firm action against any company involved in forced labor,” Khairuddin added.
SDP is the world's largest palm oil plantation company by planted area, according to its website. The company produces approximately 2.496 million tonnes/year or 4% of the world's crude palm oil (CPO) production. Its oil palm cultivation area is spread over more than 600,000 hectares in Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
The US imported about US$$410 million of CPO from Malaysia in fiscal 2020, representing about 31% of total US CPO imports, not including products that include palm oil, the CNN on December 30th.
This text was automatically translated from English.
Source: Oils & Fats International (OFI)
