Malaysia records increase in palm oil export, price
PARLIAMENT | Malaysia has exported three tonnes of palm oil in the first two months of this year, a 10.5 percent increase from its total exports for the same period last year.
As Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok told the Dewan Rakyat today, exports to the top three palm oil importing countries in January and February this year also recorded a significant increase...
PARLIAMENT | Malaysia has exported three tonnes of palm oil in the first two months of this year, a 10.5 percent increase from its total exports for the same period last year.
As Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok told the Dewan Rakyat today, exports to the top three palm oil importing countries in January and February this year also recorded a significant increase.
"Malaysia's palm oil exports to our main importing countries has increased, to India by 65.6 percent, China 62 percent and the US 20.3 percent," she said during Question Time in response to Yusof Abdul Wahab (GPS-Tanjong Manis).
Amid the proposal by the European Union to ban the use of palm oil in biofuels, Kok revealed that exports to Europe also recorded an overall increase of 1.57 percent – particularly to Italy and Spain, which recorded an increase of 88.8 percent and 23.4 percent respectively.
"With an increase in overall export, the government is confident that the price of palm oil will once again increase and remain stable," she said in reply to opposition lawmakers, who have repeatedly raised the issue of low commodity prices and its impact on smallholders in the current session of Parliament.
Kok pointed out that the price of crude palm oil from Malaysia recorded an upward trend from an average RM1.794.50 per tonne in December last year, to RM2,100.50 per tonne last month.
Among others, she attributed the increase in price to the success of Putrajaya's B10 Biodiesel Programme to increase the demand and use of biofuel.
On average, she said the price of fresh fruit bunches had also increased by 14.5 percent over the same period, from RM372 per tonne last December to RM426 per tonne last month.
Crude palm oil prices dipped to a 12-year low last December, which caused many smallholders to report losses.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had said Malaysia will consider retaliating against the EU if it persists with its measures against palm oil.
The proposed EU Delegated Act – slated to be tabled before the European Parliament in April 2019 – supplements the EU Renewable Energy Directive II to restrict and ban palm oil biofuel altogether by 2030.
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