ABIA requests tariff suspension on imports of palm oil

ABIA (the Brazilian food industry association) asked the Foreign Trade Chamber, CAMEX, to suspend the 10% import tax (TEC) on palm oil from countries outside Mercosur.

According to the entity, the low growth of national production and competition with other sectors has caused shortages in the product which is the main ingredient in trans fat substitutes, and this can inflate food prices. “The lack of palm oil is worrying in view of the urgency of adapting to the regulatory determination, RDC 332/19 by ANVISA, which determines the reduction of trans fats in food from 2021 and its ban by 2023. This determination will double the demand by the food industry over the next two years, and in the current scenario there is strong difficulty in accessing the ingredient”, wrote João Dornellas, executive president of ABIA.

The temporary withdrawal of TEC for palm oil should not harm the national producer, according to him, since the internal demand is greater than the supply. The order was placed in October, but no judgment date has been set. The next meeting of CAMEX’s Executive Management Committee (GECEX) is scheduled for December 16.

Official data show that palm plantations in Brazil have increased between 2% and 3% per year, which, according to Dornellas, is “insufficient to meet the expansion in the consumption of food and other products internally”.

According to the organization, palm oil, is essential for industrialized foods, for the pharmaceutical industry, for biofuels, and for the personal hygiene and cosmetics segment.

Source: Valor Econômico

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