United States Ban Imports of Palm Oil From M’sia FGV Holdings Bhd On Allegations of Force Labour
FGV’s which are the world’s largest crude palm oil producer and some other supplier of the oil used from food, cosmetics to biodiesel has been facing long allegations from rights groups over labor and human rights abuse. Where the US agency said that the bad was after year-long investigations that reveal a sign of forced labor such as abuse of the vulnerable, deception, physical and sexual violence, intimidation and threats, and retention of identity documents.
While Indonesia and Malaysia are the 2 biggest producers of palm oil in the industry which are also blamed for deforestation and the destruction of natural habitats. So far, US consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble which has a joint venture with FGV and FGV themselves haven’t responded to this request at the moment yet.
About 84% of palm plantations in Malaysia are hiring 337,000 migrants workers from countries such as Indonesia, India, and Bangladesh. In April, another anti-trafficking group Liberty Shared submitted a petition also against another Malaysian palm oil producer, Sime Darby Plantation Bhd on alledged labor abuse too.
