In its most recent union congress with 1,400 participants, the oil palm growers had the opportunity to review the challenges that its activity is facing.
With the deterioration of security in the different regions, this segment of the economy assumes its own share of these phenomena, to which is added new demands in international markets and perceptions about its production and consumption. He President of Fedepalma, Nicolás Pérezreferred to these issues.
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What are you experiencing right now in terms of security?
we record that security has deteriorated in all the palm-growing areas of the country. It has been presented to different degrees, because in each zone there are different armed actors.
We have more complicated areas such as Norte de Santander, Sur de Bolívar, the area around Tumaco and the south of Meta, which are the areas most affected by issues such as the ticket, the extortion. There have even been four cases of kidnapping so far this year.
What exits do they see?
We know there are operational issues. Some problems according to what we have been told, recruitment. Fewer people have turned up in the new contingents than they expected, both in the police like the army.
As there are some operational limitations, our fundamental request is to strengthen the operations of the public force and that they are accompanied by the action of justice, because They have found people in flagrante delicto, stealing fruit or oil, they are captured and, very quickly, released. Thus, the circle will never intersect.
And how is the situation on the border with Venezuela?
For some time there have been flows of fruit in both directions, but recently we have identified the presence of armed groups of both the ELN and Farc dissidents And there has been constant pressure on the palm growers due to the fact that the income from coca paste has fallen significantly, so they have turned to the palm sector to seek to compensate that income.
we have identified the theft of crude palm oil, which has been taken to Venezuela. They take the tractor-trailers there, vacate them and in some cases return them. It is a very porous border, and perhaps the place where the situation is most complicated.
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Apart from this internal return, what external challenges are there?
There are two, very big. The first is that the European regulationAlthough he recognizes the progress that several countries and the Colombian palm oil sector have made in producer certification, he considers that this will not be enough and that there must be a product traceability system to assure the European consumer that what is being bought it is not associated with deforestation.
So, in the next 18 months we have to complete the georeferencing of one hundred percent of the palm farms in Colombia and, later, the assembly of the traceability system. That’s in addition to our grower certification effort. We are currently focused on the certification of one hundred percent of Colombian palm trees with great emphasis on small-scale ones, which number 5,100.
Have you estimated how much that process costs?
Nicolás Pérez, President of Fedepalma
We estimate the process of certification of producers that It can cost between 40 and 60 million pesos in the next three years, because it is not only the certification itself, but everything that has to be done before: measurement of the situation of each one of the producers; then technical support to close the gaps in all dimensions, and then the certification process itself.
So, it is a process, let’s say, quite comprehensive, and the assembly of georeferencing and traceability is an effort that is hard the first time, in which there has been progress, but then it touches the sustainability, because to the extent that the areas, because it is time to update all the time.
So there are two fronts on which we are using, in principle, resources from the palm growers themselves through the Fondo de Fomento Palmero and, in some cases, we have received international cooperation to finance this work.
And is there government support?
Since the resources we have are parafiscal, the Government is part of the decision-making mechanisms, and up to now we have received the signal that they accompany the use of those parafiscal resources to finance those priority activities.
In more diplomatic matters, we have asked them for their accompaniment to ensure that the European Union is not going to classify Colombian palm growing as high risk of deforestation.
Seek that the classification of the country is based on the contribution that each sector to deforestation. As, in the Colombian case, The palm has had an insignificant contribution to deforestationWe hope that’s the treatment.
In addition to environmental requirements, are there labor policy requirements?
Yeah. After environmental legislation comes the discussion of legislation associated with Human Rights whose main component is work. It is an issue in which he believes that the Colombian palm has a differentiation factor due to the high degrees of labor formalization. It is an opportunity to differentiate with athletes.
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When do these new rules start in Europe?
The labor ones, we do not know, because they have not been formally approved. deforestation were approved by both Parliament and the Council. Only the classification of the countries is missing, but this begins to apply from January 1, 2025.
Are these rules consistent with the FTA with the European Union?
For purposes of commercial relationship tools, the FTA will serve as the basisAnd it is where we believe that we should have a more favorable political and commercial treatment, because we are partners with Europe and the same will happen later in the United States.
How do you see the possibility of renegotiating the FTAs?
In our congress, the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade specified what that means. What we have understood is that more than renegotiating what they are going to do is, within the framework of the agreement review mechanisms, to see how the issues have evolved.
We are already a sector relatively open to international trade and we are exporters. Changes in the rules in markets as significant as the European one would not suit us. Renegotiation can be a double-edged sword.
When talking about fair prices, are Europeans as strict as they are at work?
We do not see a correspondence between the demands placed on producers and the willingness of consumers to pay for products that comply with these laws and criteria. Complying with those rules makes the product more expensive.
Finally there has to be co-responsibility. Everybody has to put: producers, traders, importers and consumers.
