Malaysia’s Strategic Moves to Regain Palm Oil Dominance in China Amid Market Challenges

Malaysia is taking proactive measures to reclaim its portion of China’s palm oil market, following a precipitous drop of almost 39% in export volumes year-on-year in the first ten months of 2025.

According to Malaysia’s Plantation and Commodities Minister, Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, this dramatic decrease can be attributed in part to logistics issues and a surge in palm oil prices. The latter has overtaken the costs of soybean oil, making soybean oil more attractive to Chinese buyers.

China holds a pivotal role as a strategic market for Malaysia, having consistently been one of the leading destinations for Malaysian palm oil exports for over a decade. Ghani remarked that the steep decrease points to deeper problems, extending beyond simply competitiveness and logistics. The issues also involve pricing dynamics and market positioning.

Ghani underscored that Malaysia remains committed to maintaining clear and predictable export policies. This approach is designed to ensure that the nation’s activities do not interfere with the interests of its key trading partners.

In addition, Malaysia is open to ongoing discussions to better synchronize expectations regarding pricing trends, market developments, and long-term supply planning, the minister added.

The drop in exports has primarily been attributed to two factors: challenges in logistics and a rise in palm oil prices, which have made soybean oil a more attractive choice for Chinese buyers.

China is a key and strategic market for Malaysia, consistently standing as one of the top destinations for Malaysian palm oil exports for over a decade.

Malaysia intends to maintain transparent and predictable export policies and is open to continuous dialogue on pricing trends, market developments, and long-term supply planning to better align expectations.

Tags: palm oil, Market, China, exports, soybean oil, prices, Malaysia