KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 4): Malaysian palm oil industry officials on Tuesday urged the government to take action against environmental groups critical of the commodity, with one executive calling them "toxic entities". The cultivation of palm oil, which is used in everything from ice cream to lipstick, is blamed for large scale deforestation in Southeast Asia and for endangering wildlife, such as orangutans and pygmy elephants. Indonesia and Malaysia are the top two producers of palm oil. Datuk Franki Anthony Dass, chief advisor and value officer at Sime Darby Plantation Bhd — the world's biggest palm oil company by land size — said non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were orchestrating attacks on palm oil. He called the NGOs "toxic entities" for their stance on palm oil.

Source: The Edge Markets February 04, 2020 11:03 UTC