KUALA LUMPUR: Palm oil exports value is expected to exceed RM70 billion this year compared with RM67 billion recorded last year, said Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong.
He said the anticipated higher exports value would be driven by imports from European countries, India, China, Asean countries and new markets such as Iran.
“Iran offers a big potential for exporters because this year, the country’s imports of Malaysian palm oil have shot up. This is why we are working hard to look at new markets,” he told a press conference after officiating the International Palm Oil Congress and Exhibition (PIPOC) 2017 here yesterday.
Mah was confident that the palm oil industry would perform better this year in comparison to last year as its export value had increased by 22 per cent to RM51 billion up to August 2017.
On palm oil price, he said it would likely average at the current level of between RM2,600 and RM2,700 a tonne for next year while production was expected to increase to 19.5 million tonnes in 2017 from 17.5 million tonnes recorded in 2016.
Commenting on the possible ban of palm oil based biodiesel by the end of 2020, Mah said this was a clear case of discrimination against palm oil and went against the World Trade Organisation ruling given that other oils would still be allowed until 2029.
He said the recent vote by the European Union (EU) Parliament environment committee pushing for a ban on palm oil based biodiesel by end-2020 was another attempt that is part of a targeted and organised attempt to malign the palm oil industry.
“We will be doing many rounds of discussions and I am confident that the EU will not implement the discriminatory policy and they will see our point of view.
“Furthermore, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will be meeting Indonesian President Joko Widodo next week and palm oil will be high on the agenda to see how we can protect the market,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mah said the newly-announced Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the new TPP without the United States, would pave the way for Malaysian commodity to further penetrate markets such as Chile and New Zealand.
The three-day PIPOC 2017, themed ‘Treasuring the Past, Charting the Future’, was organised by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board. — Bernama