Malaysia and Indonesia have agreed to make joint publicity efforts to defend the palm oil industry in the two countries in reaction to the Western criticism, local media reported Friday.

Activists in Europe and the United States have launched a massive anti-palm oil campaign, saying Malaysia and Indonesia destroyed the orang-utan's natural habitats with the opening of palm oil estates, Malaysian Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Peter Chin Fah Kui said Friday here.

"We want to clear the issue jointly with Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture," Chin said after attending the second Joint Committee Meeting on Bilateral Cooperation on Commodities between Malaysia and Indonesia.

Malaysia will organize a seminar in Brussels on June 6 while Indonesia will hold one in London in the following month, Chin told reporters at a news conference.

Chin said the criticism campaign has affected consumption of palm oil in Europe and the United States, including the biodiesel fuel, which is a mixture of diesel and palm oil.

Meanwhile, at the joint committee meeting, the two countries also agreed to cooperate on cocoa research and development, added the minister.

Source: Xinhua