Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita has warned Norway over the proposed ban of import of crude palm oil (CPO) and its derivative products from Indonesia by the country’s parliament.
Enggartiasto delivered his warning when he met with Norway Fisheries Minister Per Sandburg at Enggartiasto’s office in Jakarta on Wednesday.
“If the ban [on CPO and its derivatives] is implemented, Indonesia will reject fish imports from Norway,” he said, as reported by kontan.co.id, saying Indonesia would consider it a declaration of trade war.
During the meeting with Sandburg, Enggartiasto said he had received an explanation that the proposal was made because the country’s parliament was dominated by opposition parties.
But according to Enggartiasto, Sandburg assured him that the Norweigian government had rejected the proposal.
However, Enggartiasto said the ministry would still monitor the matter due to an intensive negative campaign on CPO in the Scandinavian country.
Indonesian export value to the country reached US$65.5 million in 2017, while Indonesia’s imports from Norway were recorded at $237.7 million, mostly fish and fishery products.
