Exports Of Malaysia's Palm Oil, Palm Oil Products To Exceed US$16.28 Bln This Year

BANGI (Selangor, Malaysia), July 4 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's export of palm oil and palm oil products this year is expected to exceed US$16.28 billion (RM70 billion) from the US$15.58 billion (RM67 billion) registered in 2016, with Europe, India and China remaining the top three importing countries. Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Mah Siew Keong said palm oil production is also expected to increase to 19.5 million tonnes this year from 17.6 million in 2016. "Apart from Europe, India and China, Malaysia is stepping up efforts at finding new potential markets in ASEAN like the Philippines, which imported about US$232.61 million (RM1 billion) worth of palm oil, as well as the Middle East. "With competition from soya oil in the traditional markets remaining the big challenge, the government will need to increase marketing effort towards ensuring demand for palm oil continues to be strong," he told reporters at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s (MPOB) Hari Raya open house here Tuesday. On the European Union (EU) resolution on palm oil and deforestation last April, proposing to phase out unsustainably produced vegetable oils, Mah said a lot of effort is still needed to convince the grouping’s administration as well as members of parliament to not vote for it. He added that Malaysian members of parliament are expected to meet with their EU counterparts in September this year to further explain the misconceptions about palm oil before they cast their vote. Meanwhile, Mah also highlighted feedback on the Immigration Department‘s crackdown involving illegal workers in the commodities sectors after the Enforcement Card (E Kad ) deadline expired June 30. He said of the between 400,000-600,000 illegal workers in the country, only about 135,000 had registered, and this raised concerns among industry players that the action would affect business and needs to be discussed further by the Cabinet. At a press conference Tuesday, Mah also announced that MPOB would be organising the 23rd edition of the Transfer of Technology Seminar and Exhibition on July 11 to launch new technologies and services for the Palm oil industry and for local entrepreneurs to commercialise. He said the acceptance level of MPOB’s technologies and services had been quite good with a 30 per cent commercialisation rate, compared to less than five per cent for other research and development institutions and universities. -- BERNAMA