‘Orangutan diplomacy’: Malaysia plans to gift great apes to ease palm oil deforestation concerns

The idea, floated by Commodities Minister Johari Abdul Ghani, comes as a European Union (EU) deforestation regulation, which mandates that traders who sell palm oil to the EU prove their products have no links to deforestation, is set to come into effect.

“It is a diplomatic strategy, where we will gift [orangutans] to trading partners and foreign relations, especially in major importing countries such as the European Union, India and China,” Johari said while speaking at a forum on biodiversity at the Malaysian Palm Oil Green Conservation Foundation (MPOGCF) on Tuesday.

He added that Malaysia needs to show palm oil importing nations that it is a sustainable producer and is committed to protecting forests and environmental sustainability.

“Malaysia cannot take a defensive approach to the issue of palm oil.”

Malaysia’s 124,000 square kilometres of pristine rainforest – home to the critically endangered orangutan – have been hacked at by the voracious needs of palm oil and other industries. It is estimated that the country has lost nearly a fifth of its old-growth forest since 2001.

The palm oil industry, which produces a key ingredient in products ranging from lipsticks and shampoos to instant noodles and chocolates, has until the end of 2024 to comply with the new EU rules, which came into force in June 2023.

Malaysia’s palm oil sector is worth over US$7.5 billion, making it a crucial contributor to the country’s gross domestic product.

Crude palm oil has been trading at around 3,900 ringgit (US$822) per tonne for the last few years, down from a spike of over 6,000 ringgit in 2022.

The top two Malaysian palm oil producers are Sime Darby and FGV. The Malaysian government and its agencies hold substantial stakes in both companies.