President bans palm oil imports

 President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had banned palm oil imports with immediate effect, the President’s Office announced yesterday.

The Controller General of Department of Imports and Exports Control has been informed to issue the relevant gazette order by the Secretary to the President P. B Jayasundera yesterday(April 5th) itself to give effect to it.

Additionally, the Director-General of Customs has also been informed of this decision and advised to refrain from clearing palm oil cargos at the Department of Customs. At the same time the cultivation of oil palm (katupol) will be completely banned.

Meanwhile, orders have been issued under the relevant laws enforcing the directive given by the President to ban the cultivation of oil palm completely. About six months ago, the President had instructed to gradually ban the cultivation of oil palm in the country.

Furthermore, those companies and entities which have done such cultivations shall be required to remove them on a phased out manner with 10% 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.

When this is fully operational, the government intends to stop the cultivation of oil palm and the consumption of palm oil completely.