Malaysia expects higher exports of palm oil and palm-based products to China

Malaysia’s exports of palm oil and palm-based products to China are expected to increase this year with the recent signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and the China Chamber of Commerce of Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce, and Animal By-products (CFNA) in Beijing.

MPOB DG Datuk Dr Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir said the MoU further broadens cooperation between the two countries in the trade of palm oil apart from strengthening Malaysia’s position and market share in the Chinese market.

“We foresee higher exports of palm oil and palm-based products to China this year as we enhance cooperation in palm oil trade with the country with the signing of the MoU,” he said in a statement today.

MPOB said China was Malaysia’s second-largest palm oil export market in 2022 and accounted for 11.2% of total Malaysian palm oil exports.

For the record, Malaysia’s total export value of palm oil and other palm-based products to China rose 12.9% in 2022 to RM14.86 billion from RM13.16 billion, previously and the total export volume of palm oil and palm-based products increased by 0.3% to 3.14 million tonnes in 2022 from 3.13 million tonnes in 2021.

Ahmad Parveez added that MPOB successfully broadens the use of palm oil in value-added food industries through its research and development (R&D) initiatives, helping to secure the market for Malaysian palm oil.

“These include palm-based specialty fats for contemporary moon cakes, palm oil application in Xinjiang Naan, red palm-based extruded snacks, palm-based milk tablets, palm-based Tibetan butter tea, red palm oil-based hot pot paste, palm powder fats as feed additives for dairy cattle and red palm oil as feed for hairy crabs,” he said.

He also noted that the cooperation also allows China to participate in the technological exploration of oil palm mechanisation in Malaysia which will help to increase productivity and reduce reliance on human labour in the plantations.

“Both countries can now jointly promote the exploration, designing, and implementation of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), fifth-generation mobile network (5G), Internet of Things (IoT) and autonomous vehicles in oil palm plantations in Malaysia.

“These include aerospace, drone and AI technologies from China Great Wall Industry Corp particularly on the mapping of age profiles and detections of disease in the oil palm plantations as well as autonomous harvesting vehicles developed by Shanghai Westwell Information Technology Co Ltd,” he said.

Moreover, MPOB also collaborates with Tsinghua University for the promotion of Malaysian palm biofuel in China which involves a pilot study using Malaysian palm biodiesel in Chinese heavy vehicles.

Palm Oil Research and Technical Services Institute of MPOB (PORTSIM) China has also inked a consultancy agreement with China’s Grand Industrial Holdings Co Ltd (GIH) last year.

In addition, CFNA will include Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) in the drafting of guidelines under the sub-committee for sustainable agriculture of CFNA and the promotion of MSPO at their events.

CFNA will also lead a business delegation from China to participate in the MPOB International Palm Oil Congress and Exhibition (PIPOC 2023) which will be held from Nov 7 to Nov 9, 2023, in Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Malaysian palm oil will also be highlighted at the 14th China International Cereals and Oils Summit organised by CFNA in July 2023.

Tags: Malaysia, palm oil, Market, Malaysian Palm Oil Board, palm-based products, China Chamber of Commerce of Import and Export of Foodstuffs, China, exports, MPOB