She said it could potentially disrupt the livelihood of millions in key palm oil-producing nations, including Malaysia.

“This is a most unwelcome decision and goes against the principles of free and fair trade. The vote by the French Parliament is alarming and deserves the strongest condemnation.

“Their action to ultimately exclude the usage and import of palm oil as part of the approved renewable energy mix can consequentially affect our bilateral trade relations.

“Malaysia plans to protest strongly against this action and will also muster support from other key palm oil producers,” she said in a statement today.

The French National Assembly on Wednesday voted to end tax incentives for adding palm oil to diesel fuel as of 2020 and decided to treat palm oil diesel as a regular fuel and not as a green fuel.

Kok said Putrajaya deemed the vote by the French Parliament not to recognise palm biodiesel as green fuel as “discriminatory and unfair”.

“It is regrettable that the parliamentarians are making an uninformed decision as sustainable palm oil is good for the environment and supports the socio-economic development of palm oil-producing countries.”

She added the French vote was made based on unsubstantiated assumptions that the sector causes deforestation and pollution. This jeopardised Malaysia’s sustainable goals and efforts.

“This is a condemnation of our commodity, palm oil, which contributes significantly to our GDP and livelihood of more than three million people in Malaysia.

“Therefore, I call upon the French Senate to make a conscionable and socially responsible decision on the Lower House’s vote.

“Endorsing the French National Assembly’s vote against palm oil will have a profound impact on the livelihood of millions of not only Malaysian, but also Southeast Asian inhabitants and the economies of the countries,” she said.