Top palm oil producers Indonesia and Malaysia on Thursday criticized the European Union for backing a ban on the use of palm oil in biofuels, with a Malaysian minister calling the move a protectionist trade barrier and a form of “crop apartheid”. But EU Ambassador to Malaysia said that the vote by the European Union (EU) Parliament to exclude palm oil from the Renewable Energy Directive does not constitute a ban on palm oil-based biodiesel and is just “one step in a complex legislative procedure”, the EU continues to remain open to Malaysian palm oil, which is the second largest importer of the commodity after India, she added. Earlier this week, hundreds of Malaysian palm oil farmers rallied and gathered in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur to protest ahead of the EU decision.