Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia has called on palm oil producers in member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), especially those in Malaysia and Thailand, to fight against the black campaign on palm oil.

At the 10th Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) Summit in Manila, the Philippines, Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi said that the European Parliament has passed a discriminative resolution on palm oil.

The resolution has caused critical impacts on palm oil consumption, therefore the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) need to raise its voice over the issue, she said.

The IMT-GT countries have huge potential in palm oil production and raked in 416 billion USD from the product, accounting for 18.3 percent of total ASEAN trade value.

At the meeting, Indonesian President Joko Widodo suggested Thailand join CPOPC to work with Indonesia and Malaysia in the fight against black campaigns on palm oil.

He said that the IMT-GT region has great potential for economic growth with the support of the farming sector, including palm oil production.-VNA