Bangka Belitung. Indonesia is intensifying its efforts to counter the European Union's Deforestation-Free Regulation (UEDR), which aims to block products linked to deforestation from entering the European market.

Indonesia and Malaysia, two of the biggest palm oil producers, will send a delegation to Brussels in September 2024 to negotiate with the EU, addressing concerns that the regulation unfairly targets Indonesian palm oil and other forestry products.

Eddy Martono, Chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GapkiI), underscored that Indonesia will not stand idly by.

"The government is fully supporting us to ensure that the implementation of the EUDR does not place an undue burden on us. We are set to travel to Brussels in September for a Joint Task Force (JTF) meeting with the European Union and Malaysia," Martono told Beritasatu.com in Bangka Belitung on Thursday.

With the EUDR scheduled to come into effect by the end of December 2024, time is of the essence. The forthcoming Joint Task Force meeting on Sept.12, will be the third such meeting, following prior discussions on Aug. 4, 2023, and Feb.  2, 2024, with Indonesia, Malaysia, and the EU.

Gapki highlighted that while the domestic palm oil industry has yet to feel the regulation's impact, small-scale farmers will be disproportionately affected once it is enforced.

"If implemented, small farmers will be the first to suffer. They may be pushed out of the supply chain because, unlike large companies already subject to a total moratorium under Presidential Instruction No. 5/2019, small farmers have not faced similar restrictions," Martono explained.

Europe remains Indonesia's third-largest export market after China and India, with an annual volume of 4.2 to 4.3 million tons. Besides palm oil, other Indonesian forestry commodities like cocoa, coffee, rubber, and wood products are also at risk of being impacted by the EUDR.

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