The palm oil ban to persist till the report by the Ministry of Plantation Industries jointly with relevant ministries on palm oil plant cultivation suggests otherwise, The Daily Morning Business learnt.  

Speaking to The Daily Morning Business yesterday (11), Minister of Plantation Industries and Minister of Industries Dr. Ramesh Pathirana stated: “Once we get the report, we (Ministry of Plantations) can consider allowing them (palm oil planters).” However, he reiterated that the palm oil plant cultivation ban is to persist till that.  The Minister added that the study looks into the possibilities of growing palm in Mahaweli lands in the Eastern Province. The aforesaid plan is being explored with the officials of Mahaweli Development Authority and the Ministry of Plantation Industries. 

The Palm Oil Industry Association of Sri Lanka (POIASL), urged the Government to repeal the ban in place against the industry with a formulation of framework in a recent press conference. 

The former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa instructed to completely ban the importation of palm oil along with ban on the cultivation of oil palm (katupol) with immediate effect, issuing a gazette in 2021. 

A statement from the President’s Media Division on 5 April 2021 stated: “the government intends to stop the cultivation of oil palm and the consumption of palm oil completely.”

The recently published, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) study, ‘Palm Oil Industry in Sri Lanka: An Economic Analysis’ authored by Dr. Erandathie Pathiraja, Ruwan Samaraweera, Hiruni Fernando, and Jaan Bogodage pointed out that the said ban took place with the country’s vision of stepping towards sustainable agricultural practices while protecting country’s resources by diversifying agricultural production in order to mitigate its dependence on palm oil imports.

At the same time, adding her insights on the contribution of the palm oil industry in Sri Lanka, IPS Research Fellow Dr. Erandathie Pathiraja stated that the said study shows that it saves approximately $17 million per annum in foreign exchange outflows while generating employment for over 33,000 individuals with a capital investment of Rs.23 billion. 

The Daily Morning also reported that orthodox coconut oil manufacturers have expressed that this said ban, in fact, strengthened the local coconut oil industry.