"The multimillion dollar palm oil deal we should all be worried about", 7 Mar 2016

…Felda is about to conclude negotiations on the acquisition of…Eagle High Plantations…The deal would bring together two laggards in the palm oil industry…Felda was accused of human rights violations on its plantations last year by the Wall Street Journal, which reported claims – denied by the company – that contractors…were subjecting workers to abusive conditions...While an independent assessor last week confirmed it had found no evidence of trafficked workers…independent auditors employed by the RSPO…found examples of “other subtle forms of forced labour”…[M]any of Felda’s competitors…have gone beyond RSPO standards to commit to policies of “no deforestation, no peat, and no exploitation”. However, Felda has not made these commitments. Eagle High…also lacks commitments…[T]his deal is at high risk of driving deforestation…The second major risk factor is human rights abuse…Felda should not be allowed to expand its plantation holdings until it can prove that it complies with international standards for the fair treatment of workers...Felda’s investors should consider this deal a significant risk…[Also refers to Cargill, Golden Agri-Resources, and Wilmar International.]