Govt scouts new markets for Malaysian palm oil
MIRI: The government is scouting new markets for palm oil to ensure that the industry continues to run smoothly even if the pressure from the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (USA) is prolonged.
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC), Mukhtar Suhaili, said the country’s palm oil market was now expanding in the Philippines, Vietnam and Bangladesh.
The existing markets are India, China and Pakistan.
“Among the new markets which we are also working to expand are Turkey and Balkan states, along with the Middle East and Africa,” he said in a press statement yesterday.
He said the price of fresh fruit bunches and crude palm oil was also at a high level at the moment, despite the Covid-19 pandemic which is affecting the whole world.
“The price of fresh fruit bunches is about RM600 per tonne and the crude palm oil on Tuesday was RM3,180 a tonne, the highest since February 2017,” he said.
He said the hike in price was due to the high demand for palm oil, especially from India and China.
“I wish to congratulate the Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Dato Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali and all the staff of the ministry as well as related agencies for their effort.
“They have been working around the clock and intensifying efforts to ensure that our palm oil industry remains competitive and continuously growing,” he said.
Mukhtar said this was definitely good news for all industry players including small time farmers throughout the country.
He was also optimistic that despite the challenges of the world market and the economy affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysia would not be threatened by the ongoing pressure of the EU and US.