Malaysia plans clampdown on palm oil plantations over deforestation stigma

Will cap cultivated area at 6 mn hectares after EU's call to classify the oil as unsustainable, and for its exclusion from the bloc's biofuels target

Malaysia plans to halt all expansion of oil palm plantations this year as it seeks to dispel the oil’s reputation as a driver of deforestation.

The world’s second-largest producer will cap the area at around 6 million hectares (14.8 million acres), Minister of Primary Industries Teresa Kok said in an interview Friday. That’s up from 5.85 million hectares at the end of last year, which will give some leeway to growers who are in the middle of replanting or who have already bought land, she said.

The proposal, which will be put to the cabinet for discussion by March, will require commitment