02 Jan 2019 --- As 2019 gets underway, the spotlight is back on the palm oil industry as Malaysian government officials condemn the recent French National Assembly’s vote to exclude palm oil biofuels as “unwarranted and unjust.” The decision threatens the livelihoods of more than 650,000 Malaysian small farmers who rely on palm oil, according to the country’s government – and the move by France could spark trade retaliation – as Malaysia strongly protests and plans to “muster support from other key palm oil producers.”