KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Malaysian Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad on Monday called on Britain to engage with palmoil growers to incentivise sustainable production, rather thanpursuing boycotts after its scheduled exit from the EuropeanUnion (EU) on Oct. 31.
Mahathir's comments, carried in on opinion column for newsagency Bloomberg, follow a move by the EU to phase out palm oilusage in biofuels. Top growers Indonesia and Malaysia have saidthey would file a complaint to the World Trade Organization tochallenge the move.
"A fresh attitude toward palm oil, unencumbered byinfluential special-interest groups, could lead to even bettertrade terms between the U.K. and the (Southeast Asia) regionthan it currently enjoys," Mahathir wrote in a column carried onBloomberg's terminals and website. (https://tinyurl.com/yyx6td8x)
"We hope to avoid a trade war with Europe," he wrote. "Butif one transpires, that doesn't mean the U.K. has to get caughtin the crossfire."
In March, the European Commission had determined that palmoil cultivation had resulted in excessive deforestation and itshould no longer be considered a renewable transport fuel,albeit with some exemptions.
While Mahathir acknowledged the importance of environmentalsustainability and deforestation in trade talks, he said, "Theanswer is not to single out one commodity and ban it" and calledthe EU's move "a form of modern colonialism that has no place intoday's world".(Reporting by Emily ChowEditing by Kenneth Maxwell)