Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has instructed to completely ban the importation of Palm Oil with immediate effect while ordering plantation firms to uproot Palm Oil Plants in a phased-out manner, according to the President’s Media Division (PMD).
The Secretary to President P.B Jayasundera today(5th of April) issued instructions to the Controller General of the Department of Imports and Exports Control to issue the relevant gazette notification today itself banning Palm Oil imports to the country.
In addition, the Director-General of Customs has been communicated on this decision and advised to refrain from clearing palm oil cargos at the Department of Customs, the PMD noted.
At the same time, the PMD stated that the cultivation of oil palm (katupol) will be completely banned.
Meanwhile, orders have been issued under the relevant laws enforcing the advice given by the President to ban the cultivation of oil palm completely.
The PMD stated the President had instructed to gradually ban the cultivation of oil palm in the country about six months ago.
“Furthermore, those companies and entities which have done such cultivations shall be required to remove them in a phased-out manner with 10% uprooting at a time and replacing it with the cultivation of rubber or environmental friendly crops each year to free Sri Lanka from oil palm plantation and palm oil consumption,” it stated.
When this is fully operational, the government intends to stop the cultivation of oil palm and the consumption of palm oil completely.