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MEDIA STATEMENT

MALAYSIAN MINISTER LAUNCHES COMMODITIES INTEGRATION
MARKETING COMPANY IN JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA TO
STRENGTHEN MARKET POSITION

27 January 2022

1. Hon. Datuk Hajah Zuraida Kamaruddin, Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities of Malaysia officially launched the agricommodity regional office in Jeddah during a ministerial mission to Saudi Arabia followed by a Roundtable Discussion with the representatives of Palm Oil, Rubber and Timber Industries of Saudi Arabia to strengthen market position in this region for Malaysia’s agricommodity sectors.

2. The Commodities Integration Marketing Company (CIMC), the first of its kind in the Middle East, houses three government-linked organisations under one roof, namely Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), Malaysian Rubber Council (MRC) and Malaysian Timber Council (MTC).

3. The set-up of this agricommodity office is integral to facilitate the development and cooperation among Malaysian commodities and the local industries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, particularly Saudi Arabia. This will also lead to greater opportunities in enhancing trade for both countries.

4. Malaysian agricommodity products are well established in the world market and most are daily life essentials such as cooking oil, cosmetics, soap, gloves and house furniture and commonly used products in the industrial sector such as biofuel, structural bearings, automotive parts and building panels. Malaysia is not only recognised as the world’s largest exporter of rubber gloves and second largest exporter of crude palm oil, its agricommodity products are also known for its high quality and can be found in most parts of the world.

5. In 2020, Malaysian agricommodity export value to the Middle East and North Africa recorded a total of USD2.37 billion while rubber and its products recorded an export value of USD535 million. Similarly, timber and timber products recorded an export value of USD324.5 million whereas palm oil and palm oil products recorded USD1.51 billion.

6. Commodities Integration Marketing Company (CIMC) in Jeddah will act as the Malaysian Commodity Hub to foster international relations through various initiatives that are critical for the improvement and acceptance of Malaysian agricommodity products in the global market. The Ministry believes, the office in Jeddah is a testimony from both countries to deliver high quality Malaysian agricommodity products to Middle East and Africa in a responsible and sustainable manner.

7. In addition, Saudi Arabia has also committed to increase its imports of Malaysian palm oil from 318,000 tonnes, worth RM900 million last year to 500,000 tonnes, an increase of 182,000 tonnes with an estimated worth of RM1.5 billion this year.

HON. DATUK HAJAH ZURAIDA KAMARUDDIN
Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities of Malaysia
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
27th January 2022

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Last Updated: 22 February 2022

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MEDIA STATEMENT

RISE IN CRUDE PALM OIL (CPO) PRICE TO RECORD HIGH BRINGS
HUGE PROFITS TO SMALLHOLDERS NATIONWIDE

1. For the first time in the history of the national palm oil industry, the price of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) hit an all-time-high of RM5,750 per tonnes for two consecutive days on Feb 3 & 4, bringing great news and huge profits to about 400,000 smallholders nationwide.

2. This increase is a testament to the commitment and dedication of the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) through the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), together with the Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC) to help the rakyat through various initiatives and Government policies.

3. MPIC will continue to strive to expand the Malaysian palm oil market to overseas markets, especially in West Asia such as in Turkey and Saudi Arabia, given the increase in Malaysian palm oil exports to Turkey with a total 703,588 tonnes in 2021 and Saudi Arabia’s commitment to increase Malaysian palm oil imports to 500,000 tonnes which is estimated to reach RM1.5 billion in value, this year.

4. Recently, following my visit and the MPIC delegation to Saudi Arabia, several memorandums of understanding (MoU) were signed with several companies including the Savola Group, which is the largest importer and distributor of edible oil in Saudi Arabia.

5. In fact, MPIC entered into three areas of cooperation, including the construction of a storage tank terminal in Jeddah; making Saudi Arabia a hub for the reexporting of Malaysian palm oil; and a joint campaign to promote the benefits of Malaysian palm oil to their country and the world. I am confident the country's palm oil industry will continue to thrive in line with the ongoing efforts by this Ministry.

6. Although at this point, there are sanctions imposed by the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) on Malaysian palm oil, MPIC will continue to work hard to ensure the long-term interests of the palm oil industry are safeguarded and will continue assisting palm oil smallholders and other stakeholders.

7. Once again, I call upon all Malaysians to come together with the Ministry in an effort to address anti-palm oil propaganda by Western countries that is clearly aimed at bringing down our country’s palm oil industry. We need to make sure the country's palm oil industry continues to be one of the largest contributors to the national economy.

DATUK HAJAH ZURAIDA KAMARUDDIN
MINISTER OF PLANTATION INDUSTRIES AND COMMODITIES
5 FEBRUARI 2022

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Last Updated: 22 January 2020

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Malaysia’s Berjaya Corporation Committed towards Palm Oil and Other Malaysian Commodities

As part of the on-going Love My Palm Oil Campaign (LMPO), Minister of Primary Industries, YB Teresa Kok enlisted the support and commitment of Berjaya Corporation through its Chairman Tan Sri Vincent Tan.

The event hosted at Berjaya Hotel Times Square on Monday 20 January 2020, also showcased a number of Malaysian commodities particularly palm oil, cocoa and pepper successfully incorporated into various food and non-food formulations that are finding niche markets including in Japan and other developed markets.

Tan Sri Vincent Tan was emphatic in stating that Berjaya Corporation was a true supporter of all things Malaysian and his corporation’s base remains firmly in Malaysia.

This also meant that they actively look into various locally grown and available supply chains to be added to their long list of already successful consumer platforms.

In this context he had closely followed the nation’s commodities sectors and found so many unexploited opportunities presented by palm oil, cocoa and pepper.

Minister YB Teresa Kok in welcoming Berjaya Corporation’s commitment assured the business communities that her Ministry was spearheading research on several downstream applications.

Many, particularly those based on Malaysian palm oil and cocoa have been commercialised successfully by small and medium sized entrepreneurs.

The products are formulated and packaged to international standards and are getting international attraction but yet their ability to expand into major markets are limited due to a lack of business experiences and supply chain management.

“In this matter the long term expertise and experience of the Berjaya Corporation which is already world class and demonstrated by their successful management of leading brands such as 7-Eleven, Starbucks and Kenny Rogers could come in handy,” said YB Teresa Kok.

Indeed while interacting with the exhibitors at the event made up largely of the small and medium entrepreneurs both Tan Sri Vincent Tan and YB Teresa Kok exchanged many interesting observations, with Vincent Tan showing keen interest in several products displayed.

He stated that his team would be making further assessment of these products to help map out possible market expansion particularly through his existing enterprises.

Berjaya Corporation also agreed to work with the Ministry of Primary Industries and MPOC to create a palm oil awareness walkabout area and that Berjaya Hotel will get its chefs to recreate palm based recipes for food preparation and presentations in the next two months.

This was deemed timely since 2020 is Visit Malaysia Year and the expected influx of more than 20 million tourists could be given a taste of Malaysia through these primed food recipes developed by Berjaya Hotels and its culinary schools.

Overall YB Teresa Kok stated that these efforts were bearing fruit and the Love My Palm Oil Campaign was being actively supported by various business groups with the most recent commitments from Berjaya Corporation emerging at a most timely juncture.


Ministry of Primary Industries
Putrajaya
22 Januari 2020

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MEDIA STATEMENT
MALAYSIAN PALM OIL PENETRATES NEW MARKETS, SIGNALS
GREATER GLOBAL ACCEPTANCE

1. Malaysian palm oil has been able to penetrate new global markets and this shows that the commodity has gained greater international acceptance amid the Ministry's intense “Global Movement to Champion the Goodness of Palm Oil” campaign.

2. At least three countries which had never imported Malaysian palm oil in the past, namely Estonia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, have started purchasing the commodity in recent months.

3. I am pleased with the development, which came amid the Ministry of Plantations Industries and Commodities ’(MPIC) aggressive efforts to market our palm oil globally and to debunk Western myths and propaganda.

4. Between Jan and July this year, Estonia imported 2,501 tonnes of Malaysian palm oil worth RM20.22 million, the Czech Republic (95 tonnes worth RM0.88 million, and Hungary (853 tonnes worth RM6.73 million).

5. While the volume and value of the imports from these countries are not as those from our major importers like India and Turkiye, these inroads were significant developments. Having one foot in the door allows us to further grow the Malaysian palm oil market share there in the long-run.

6. We acknowledge that our ability to tap into these new markets were partly attributed to the war in Ukraine which had resulted in disruptions to the supply of sunflower and rapeseed oils, which were traditionally used in these countries. But I believe this is a good start and that the Malaysian palm oil will not only continue to have a presence in these markets but grow rapidly there even after the war is over.

7. MPIC is also targeting to export to more non-traditional countries, particularly in the EU, and also to expand our market share among our traditional palm oil importing nations.

8. This is done through:
i. Strengthening existing major export markets, particularly India, China, Pakistan, and the EU, as well as to promote palm oil products more aggressively to penetrate new markets such as in Africa and Central Asian regions;
ii. Enhance Research and Development (R&D) activities in the production of new products as well as add value to downstream commodity products and;
iii. Enhancing better market access through bilateral free trade agreement (FTA)negotiations as well as multilateral or regional consultations

9. Feedback from many new markets show that they are impressed with Malaysian palm oil because of its higher productivity, versatility in food and non-food sectors and availability throughout the year.

10.We will continue to leverage on these strengths. This indicates the success of our “Global Movement to Champion the Goodness of Palm Oil” campaign. Previously, many, particularly in the EU, did not know about the advantages of using Malaysian palm oil due to decades of sustained smear campaigns.

11.But now, many are much more receptive to using Malaysian palm oil due to greater awareness by the Ministry and its agencies, including during international trade missions which I had led. Such efforts will not end here and MPIC is committed to continue promoting our palm oil and enhance its competitiveness globally.

YB DATUK HAJAH ZURAIDA KAMARUDDIN
MINISTER OF PLANTATION INDUSTRIES AND COMMODITIES
14 SEPTEMBER 2022