Published by
Daily Financial Times
Daily Financial Times
In April 2021, the Sri Lankan Government took an unprecedented decision of banning palm oil imports and ordered the uprooting of oil palm trees to be replaced with rubber trees. The main reason cited was palm oil’s negative social and environmental impacts based on a contestable report prepared in 2018. After a few days of the order, the import of palm oil that costs Sri Lankan exchequer $ 88 million was reversed. However, the ban on oil palm cultivation continues. The policy of reversing palm oil imports was a prudent one that helped to manage the immediate crisis faced by the local food and …