Palm oil industry fumes as Jakarta gets tough on forest fires

Jakarta

PALM oil firms have slammed Indonesia's move to prohibit the use of new land to boost production, saying President Joko Widodo's latest effort to tackle forest fires could slash jobs and cripple output in the world's top producer of the commodity.

Palm oil is a major growth driver for Indonesia, but the industry is facing criticism for deforestation and its slash-and- burn forest-clearing techniques that send vast plumes of smoke across Southeast Asia every year, described by climate officials as a "crime against humanity".