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Last Updated: 20 September 2022

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MEDIA STATEMENT
THE POTENTIAL OF MALAYSIA’S PALM OIL REMAINS INTACT DESPITE
SOFTENING CPO PRICES
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1. EXPORT of Malaysian palm oil and palm oil-based products rose by 55.2% to RM67.48 billion between January and June this year from RM43.47 billion during the corresponding period in 2021. Of the value, 66.1% of the export earnings were contributed by palm oil which amounted to RM44.63 billion compared with only RM28.8 billion in the same period last year.

2. In terms of volume, the export of palm oil and palm oil-based products between January and June this year rose by 2.8% to 11.47 metric tonnes (MT) from 11.15 million MT a year ago. Malaysia recorded strong exports despite the drop in crude palm oil (CPO) production in the first half (1H) of 2022. Based on statistics by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), crude palm oil (CPO) production fell by 1.1% to 8.27 MT during the period compared with 8.36 metric tonnes during 1H 2021.

3. The fall is attributed to the dip in fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yield by 3.6% to 6.9 tonnes per hectare during the January-June 2022 period compared with 7.16 tonnes per hectare in the same period last year. Meanwhile, the sharp rise in export earnings is partly due to the spike in CPO prices, both domestically and abroad. Between January and June 2022, CPO prices rose by 55.9% to RM6,330 per MT from RM4,061.50 per MT during the same period in 2021.

4. According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), export earnings for palm oil and palm oil-based products between January and May this year rose to RM56.47 billion, or an increase of 58.8% compared with the five months in 2021.

5. The Ministry and I are pleased with the encouraging figures achieved during the first six months of 2022 as planters – both smallholders and listed plantation companies – were able to capitalise on the spike in CPO prices to generate higher revenue. Obviously, a surge in revenue that translates into better earnings is most welcomed as this would also contribute toward various sources of taxation that will ultimately enable the Keluarga Malaysia Government to carry out relevant socio-economic programmes that are deemed vital to expedite Malaysia’s economic recovery from the economic fallout following the COVID-19 pandemic.

6. It is also gratifying to note that Malaysia's golden crop has gained wide global acceptance, as demonstrated by the encouraging export during 1H 2022. In this respect, I wish to thank my colleagues at the MPIC and those spread across related agencies for their aggressive efforts in promoting Malaysian palm oil, particularly during my various trade missions abroad.

7. We are confident that the prospects for Malaysian palm oil will remain bright during 2H 2022. This is partly due to greater acceptance of the commodity globally, including that from non-traditional markets. We attribute this to the success of MPIC's campaign "The Global Movement to Champion the Goodness of Palm Oil," which is intended to counter misinformation and false information on our number one commodity.

DATUK HAJAH ZURAIDA KAMARUDDIN
MINISTER OF PLANTATION INDUSTRIES AND COMMODITIES
09 AUGUST 2022

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Last Updated: 20 September 2022

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MEDIA STATEMENT
MALAYSIA PLEDGES TO HELP INDIA MEET ITS PALM OIL DEMAND
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1. MALAYSIA is prepared to fulfil India’s demand for palm oil in view of potentially erratic supply from Indonesia. This is considering that in less than one year, Indonesia's policy on palm oil export has created market uncertainties to major importing countries like India.

2. India is among the world’s largest palm oil user after Indonesia with a consumption level of 8.7 million tonnes in 2021 and 8 million tonnes alone in the first quarter of 2022. As stated by Indian Vegetable Oil Producers ’Association (IVPA) president Sudhakar Desai at the recent Malaysia International Agricommodity Expo and Summit (MIACES) 2022, Malaysia has kept its policy pertaining to palm oil trading in a stable manner, thus able to meet India's demand during the period of Indonesia’s ban on palm oil export.

3. Sudhakar was also quoted as saying that Malaysia's good supply chain played a crucial role in the edible oil security for India’s demand in the last two months. India’s faith in Malaysia – the world’s second largest palm oil producer after Indonesia – as a trusted supplier who can guarantee undisrupted supply has been further fortified by a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between IVPA and the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) at MIACES 2022.

4. Very broadly, the MOU aims to strengthen cooperation between India and Malaysia in the palm oil industry, enhance collaboration to promote the Indian palm oil industry, exchange information pertaining to sustainability efforts as well as research and development insofar as the golden crop is concerned.

5. Towards this end, I share the sentiment by IVPA president Sudhakar who is confident that both the association and MPOC are able to take up dynamic policy-related issues with respective policymakers for the benefit of the industry in both countries. At the moment, IVPA has estimated India’s palm oil imports from Malaysia to remain stable in the second half of 2022, making up about 55% of India’s total palm oil imports despite Indonesia’s move to accelerate palm oil exports in recent times.

6. In fact, IVPA further foresees a surge in demand to the 800,000 tonnes per month region for the next six months or an improvement of about 20% from the first half of 2022. India's optimism on Malaysian palm oil is a vote of confidence on our golden crop. We hope this will spur more non-traditional markets to start switching to palm oil, which has proven to be healthier and more sustainable compared with alternatives.

7. In this respect, the MPIC will step up efforts to promote Malaysian palm oil, not just in India but throughout the world, including non-traditional markets in line with the "The Global Movement to Champion the Goodness of Palm Oil" campaign.

DATUK HAJAH ZURAIDA KAMARUDDIN
MINISTER OF PLANTATION INDUSTRIES AND COMMODITITES
04 AUGUST 2022

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Last Updated: 20 September 2022

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MEDIA RELEASE
MALAYSIA INTERNATIONAL AGRICOMMODITY EXPO AND SUMMIT 2022
(MIACES) AS GLOBAL HUB OF AGRICOMMODITY INDUSTRY PLAYERS
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1. YAB Dato' Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob, Prime Minister today officiated the Malaysia International Agricommodity Expo and Summit 2022 (MIACES) which will start from 26TH to 28TH July 2022 at MITEC, Kuala Lumpur and involve participation from 39 countries and over 350 international companies.

2. MIACES is organized by the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) with the support of agencies and councils under the Ministry. MIACES 2022 is a medium of strengthening the network of cooperation between agricommodity players to build a network of transactions as well as explore potential investments in the agricommodity sector. It also opens up the space and potential for industry players to penetrate the international market in a conducive business environment.

3. The expo and summit, which runs for three (3) days today, features the latest commodity products, services and plantation technology under one roof. Various other events were also organised such as conferences, roundtable discussions, business to business (B2B) meetings and prestigious awards nights in recognition of the industry players contribution.

4. MIACES 2022 helps bridge the gap between industry players, accelerating digitalization to build a sustainable ecosystem to improve quality. The expo and summit also enable industry players in each agricommodity network to transact and collaborate in the same hub.

5. Not only that, MIACES 2022 featured a 'Hosted Buyer' Programme that helps entrepreneurs expand their business model and open up opportunities to connect with leaders in the agricommodity sector. The B2B Virtual MIACES platform offers a one-on-one session with exporters, distributors, importers, investors, manufacturers, retailers, merchants, wholesalers and government bodies and agencies.

6. A total of 20 speakers will be involved in mentoring and coaching sessions for startups in the plantation and commodity industries, as well as recruitment, training and upskilling sessions for all. Special Farmers Day during the expo and summit also provides an opportunity for farmers to obtain information on the latest incentives, support and technologies in the industry.

7. All parties are invited to attend MIACES to support the country's agricommodity industry. For more information and pre-registration for activities, visit myagricommodity.com. Admission is free for all visitors.

MINISTRY OF PLANTATION INDUSTRIES AND COMMODITIES
26TH JULY 2022

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Last Updated: 08 July 2022

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PRESS STATEMENT
MALAYSIA CAN ILL-AFFORD TO BE A “SITTING DUCK” OF THE WESTERN ANTIPALM OIL CAMPAIGN

1. AS the world’s two top palm oil producers, Malaysia and Indonesia, have for the past two decades or so been subject to numerous anti-palm oil campaigns by western countries and the developed world, which eventually affected the marketability of palm oil and its related products in these markets.

2. The smearing campaign, which created negative perceptions towards palm oil –if not systematically and strategically put to rest–, can affect the competitiveness of Malaysian palm oil exports in the long haul.

3. As palm oil and its related products have been a major revenue contributor to the country’s economy as well as having played a significant role in reducing rural poverty (by providing employment) and improving infrastructure, Malaysia has resorted to counter such malicious/baseless claims via a ‘soft consultancy ’approach.

4. Historically, the negative image of palm oil started taking shape in Europe beginning in 2003, revolving around issues pertaining to sustainability before moving to the nutritional aspects of palm oil.

5. The current practice of ‘no palm oil ’or ‘palm oil-free labelling in France and Belgium can be traced back to 2008, when the French retail chain Carrefour started to substitute palm oil in potato chips with sunflower oil.

6. Singling out palm oil with the ‘palm oil-free marketing and labelling campaigns convinced consumers that palm oil is terrible whether for nutritional or environmental reasons or both.

7. Recall that in 2019, the European Union (EU) has classified palm oil as a crop with a high-risk rate towards indirect land-use change, hence deemed to contribute to deforestation and loss of biodiversity. EU member countries are currently adoptingthe European Union Renewable Energy Directive II in their respective legislation.

8. Such a classification exercise will affect palm oil being a potential biofuel source since its usage will be gradually reduced beginning in 2023 before being ‘eliminated totally ’ as an EU biofuel source in 2030.

9. This has led to Malaysia initiating legal action against the EU and two of its members – France and Lithuania – on 15 January 2021 under the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Dispute Settlement Mechanism. Such development came about after the EU implemented the directive without considering Malaysia’s commitment and views, even after the latter had given its feedback and sent economic and technical missions to Europe.

10.Malaysia will also act as a third party in a separate WTO case lodged by Indonesia, which is the world’s biggest palm oil producer, as a sign of solidarity and support.

11.In all fairness, Malaysia is left with no choice but to retaliate against “the bullies” even as it understands that the ensuing legal process can be dragging and costly, given it entails massive preparation and submission of documents for argument as well as meticulous research and ‘countless hours of meeting and deliberation by the panel tasked to look into the matter.

12.Thus far, no other restrictions have been imposed by the EU against palm oil. However, the fact remains that medium- to long-term damage has already been inflicted on palm oil’s image in the eyes of European consumers.

13.In this regard, the Ministry of Plantation Industry and Commodities (MPIC) will continue to closely monitor any latest developments from a legislation standpoint by the EU, which can potentially tarnish the reputation of palm oil, hence adversely affecting the viability of the palm oil and palm oil-related industry in Malaysia. I call upon all Malaysians to join MPIC and rise up to defend our palm oil in the eyes of the world.

YB DATUK HAJAH ZURAIDA KAMARUDDIN
MINISTER OF PLANTATION INDUSTRIES AND COMMODITIES
22 JUNE 2022