Ambassador: Palm oil tax still discussed until mid-june

Therefore, he said in Jakarta, Monday, decision making process regarding the implementation of the progressive tax will be delayed from the original time schedule, which was planned to be right after the French National Assembly meeting on 15 March.

"The parliaments discussion of the Bill will still take place until mid June and the tax implementation for the palm oil producing countries is still under consideration," said Breuze.

The French Government is planning on implementing a progressive tax on all palm oil products with the aim of balancing the tax for such product with the tax for other oil products, such as olive oil and sunflower oil.

Furthermore, the palm oil tax is considered to be too low, especially considering that its cultivation process damages the ecosystem and causes deforestation.

Regarding this French plan, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and President of the French Republic Francios Hollande had also had a bilateral meeting in Shima Japan on Friday, 27 May in which palm oil tax was one of the discussed themes.

"Yes, it is true that at that time, both presidents had met. The meeting discussed how the two countries (Indonesia and France) could closely maintain the cooperation. However, the information for Indonesia is still under discussion," he said.

Nonetheless, Breuze also conveyed that his government finds it important to help Indonesia sell its products in France and even Europe.

"Other than that, we are also very interested in investing in Indonesia to help its development," he said.