Cambodia’s nascent palm oil sector could be affected by the new proposed rules from European Union restricting the import of palm oil, but the country’s exporters is hoping that demand from Asian countries will cushion the blow. In response to environmental groups’ criticism on the deforestation and ecological consequences caused by many palm oil plantations globally, European lawmakers last Wednesday proposed to reform the bloc’s regulations surrounding imports of the product, and specifically ban the use of palm oil in biofuels by 2020. The EU’s new rules could have a devastating effect on the global demand for palm oil if there are ratified by European governments. However, Cambodia’s largest exporter of palm oil, a joint venture between the Mong Reththy group and Thailand’s TCC Group, hopes to see an increase in demand from Asian nations including India and China to offset the expected drop in exports to the EU as the company’s exports to the economic bloc accounts for only 15% of total exports. (Source: Phnom Penh Post)