The Malaysian Palm Oil Council was 'extremely disappointed' with Britain's Advertising Standards Authority for yanking the two commercials, it said in a statement seen on Friday on its website.

'We do not feel that the advertisements mislead in any way, and we stand by our claim that Malaysian palm oil is produced sustainably,' council chief executive officer Yusof Basiron said.

The independent British watchdog ordered British television to stop showing the promotions after it found there was no consensus on the benefit of the plantations to the environment as claimed by the ads.

The commercials were aired in July on BBC World, the British Broadcasting Corp's international news channel.

'The advertisement is designed to suggest that oil palm plantations can coexist harmoniously with rain forests,' the council's statement said.

'We submit that oil palm plantations can be, and often are in Malaysia, biodiverse and sustainable.'

Environmentalists complained the ads could lead viewers to believe palm oil plantations are as environmentally friendly as natural rain forests, which have been cut down to make space for plantations, hurting biodiversity and the life of indigenous jungle dwellers.

Green groups also said the net impact of using palm oil as a substitute for fossil fuels - an important point in the debate on global warming - is still unproven, and deforestation to make way for plantations accounts for a massive 8 percent of global annual carbon dioxide emissions. -- AP