MALAYSIA NEEDS TO INVEST IN, GENERATE MORE VALUE-ADDED PALM OIL PRODUCTS

5 JAN 2021

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia needs to increase investments in downstream processing activities and shift towards generating more value-added palm oil products.

Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry secretary-general Datuk Ravi Muthayah said the palm oil industry should move towards high value-added and not be risk-averse in business decisions as traders cannot depend solely on palm oil as a commodity

“This is because palm oil is always subject to price volatility and uncertainties,” he said during the Malaysian Palm Oil Trade Fair and Seminar 2021 (POTS Digital 2021) today.

With stricter global market requirements, he said it is important to strategically position palm oil in new emerging markets, particularly in untapped markets and also some markets that had not heard about palm oil as edible oil.

“To further promote our products as a sustainable and safe oil for consumption, we may want to venture into and explore non-traditional markets in the Middle East, Northern Africa and Eastern Europe where the market remains largely untapped,” he said.

Nevertheless, Ravi said palm oil would continue to face challenges as long as there are other competing edible vegetable oils.

As such, he hoped market players would continuously engage themselves in dispelling misconceptions and disseminating true information about palm oil, in terms of its versatility, health aspects, economic contribution as well as worker's rights.

“Worker’s rights are equally important and should not be taken lightly. This is important to ensure the palm oil industry is viewed as a responsible and caring industry,” he said. -Bernama