Malaysia is targeting North Africa and Middle East as the new export markets for its palm oil

Malaysia is targeting North Africa and Middle East as the new export markets for its palm oil.

This is to reduce reliance on existing markets such as India, China and the European Union (EU), said Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali.

“What happened in Europe, let it be. The most important thing is that we will continue to open up new markets, we will create a new direction,” the newly-appointed minister said, when asked on Malaysia’s plans to file the World Trade Organisation complaint against the EU restrictions on palm oil.

Khairuddin said the ministry had received calls from some Middle Eastern countries’ ambassadors to discuss on the prospect of importing palm oil products from Malaysia.

The ministry, he added, would undertake a comprehensive study on the strength of the markets in the Middle East and Africa via the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB).

He said an international bank would be roped in to facilitate the plans.

Khairuddin also said the government was targeting to increase palm oil plantation acreage and yield in the near future.

“At the moment, the size of our palm oil plantation stands at six million hectares (ha), with yield around 20 million tonne per hectare. We target to increase that (yield),” he told reporters after chairing a meeting with the MPOB board of directors here today.

He, however, said the ministry was not able to disclose any target at this moment, as the matter was being studied by the MPOB.