Colombo, April 6 (newsin.asia) – President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has ordered the importation of Palm Oil into Sri Lanka to be halted with immediate effect, President Media Division (PMD) said in a statement.
Over six months ago, the President instructed to gradually ban the cultivation of oil palm in Sri Lanka.
“Furthermore, those companies and entities which have done such cultivations shall be required to remove them on a phased-out manner with 10 per cent uprooting at a time and replacing it with the cultivation of rubber or environmental friendly crops each year to free Sri Lanka from oil palm plantation and palm oil consumption,” the statement said.
The Director-General of Customs has been advised to refrain from clearing palm oil cargos at the Department of Customs.
Some environmentalists argue that the farming of oil palm trees is extremely bad for the planet. Some people say palm oil is the best type of vegetable oil to produce.
Dr Emma Keller from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) – a charity that works to protect the planet – told Newsround: “Palm oil is in close to half of the products we buy in the supermarkets – in everything from shampoos and soaps, to pizzas and biscuits. It’s everywhere.”
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