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MEDIA STATEMENT
EFFORTS TO ACCELERATE EMPLOYMENT OF INDONESIAN WORKERS NEED
TO BE COORDINATED USING DIGITAL PLATFORMS

1. The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) takes cognisance of the concerns raised by the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) in May this year that the Malaysian oil palm plantation sector could potentially be incurring losses of RM21 billion in 2021 and a further RM28 billion in 2022 if foreign workers are not brought into the country immediately.

2. The issue of the lack of foreign workers started following the closure of national borders due to the implementation of several stages of the Movement Control Order (MCO) when the Covid-19 pandemic peaked and worsened, affecting the harvesting process in farms across the country.

3. The Ministry at the same time also welcomes the agreement made by the Republic of Indonesia over the decision to re-allow the entry of its workers into Malaysia, which has been in effect since 1 August 2022, after withdrawing the restrictions before that, which were made due to concerns over issues related to rights of its (Indonesian) workers.

4. In order to simplify the process of hiring foreign workers, MPIC acknowledges that the process must be complete and efficient, hence we are all looking forward to the coordination process to be gradually switched to a fullydigitalised platform without any human interference possible.

5. For a long-term solution, MPIC encourages farm owners to provide retraining and skills improvement among local workers, in addition to practicing good labour management, which is important to keep foreign workers, employed.

6. A good labour force management policy will not only prevent foreign workers from absconding, it will also enable employers to circumvent the risk of forced labour and human trafficking which can ultimately be disruptive to their export business in the long run.

7. The Ministry will not compromise on issues related to forced labour in the country and Malaysia will continue to comply with the guidelines set in the International Labour Organization (ILO). In fact, MPIC will continue to support the National Action Plan on Forced Labour (NAPFL) which was developed in an effort to address and eradicate the issue of forced labour in the country.

8. The Ministry is confident that the noble efforts being undertaken at this time can help mobilize the 'Global Movement to Champion the Goodness of Palm Oil' campaign which, among other things, aims to explore and penetrate new markets and increase our country's palm oil exports.

YB DATUK HAJAH ZURAIDA KAMARUDDIN
MINISTER OF PLANTATION INDUSTRIES AND COMMODITIES
15th AUGUST 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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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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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