It insisted that palm oil is "a healthy, natural and important product which
240,000 small farmers in Malaysia are proud to produce" and urged the French
government to reject the call for a tax increase by Senator Yves Daudigny.
The social commission of France's upper house adopted a proposal last
Wednesday for a tax of €300 per tonne of palm, coconut and palm kernel oil used
in human food on top of existing taxes of around €100. It would also apply to
imported food products.
Given the presence of palm oil in the chocolate and nut spread, the proposed
levy has been dubbed the "Nutella tax".
"The action taken by French Senator Daudigny... is irresponsible,
badly-informed and ignores the primary source of saturated fats in the French
diet," said the Palm Oil Council statement. Malaysia is one of the world's top
two palm oil exporters and alongside Indonesia, accounts for 85pc of global
production
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