Philippines bans palm oil from Indonesia, Malaysia

(FMT) – The Philippines’ Department of Agriculture on Friday sought a temporary ban on palm oil imports from Indonesia and Malaysia, saying local coconut and oil palm farmers are hurting from “extremely low” prices due to “dumping” of the commodity by the two biggest producers.

Palm oil imports from Indonesia and Malaysia have increased by 900% over the last three years, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol said in a Facebook post.

The Department of Agriculture also asked the Department of Energy and the National Bio-Fuels Board to raise the coconut oil component of biodiesel to 5% from 2%.

Pinol did not specify any timeframe for the ban.