Cargill contests reports of peat development in Indonesia

This is a response to articles, Cargill develops new plantations in peat ecosystem complex, published on November, 6 2017, and Govt shares photos of Cargill’s new plantations in peat ecosystem, published November 8, 2017 by foresthints.news.

Cargill has a longstanding Policy on Sustainable Palm Oil grounded in no deforestation and no development on peat. We undertake a formal due diligence process to ensure all new plantings and development only take place following assessments to determine that there is no peat, high carbon stock (HCS) and/or high conservation value (HCV) areas. Areas in our concession identified as peat, HCS and/or HCV are conserved and monitored regularly.

Based on our information on PT Hindoli and what has been made publicly available, earlier assessments and independent analyses by soil experts conducted in 2005, 2016 and 2017 by JH Agriculture Service (Malaysia), Central Plantations Service Riau and Lowland-Wetland Coastal Area Data Information Center/BRG, consistently show the absence of peat in the area identified. We formally contacted the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry on August 3, 2017 to address the inconsistent data published about the area and we are urgently seeking a meeting with the Ministry to discuss the matter.

Cargill is committed to sustainable, deforestation-free, socially responsible palm oil, as detailed in our Policy on Sustainable Palm Oil.