This morning, Primary Industries Minister YB Teresa Kok met officials from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) and the Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC) for a briefing session on the oil palm industry, an important economic sector that contributes 4.8% to our national GDP.
Also present was Teluk Intan MP, YB Nga Kor Ming.
Export revenue from the oil palm industry increased by 14.8% last year from RM67.92 bil in 2016 to RM77.85 bil in 2017.
In 2017, the total planted area for oil palm stood at 5.81 mil hectares – comprising 2.71 mil hectares in Peninsular Malaysia, 1.55 mil hectares in Sarawak and 1.546 mil hectares in Sabah.
Production of Crude Palm Oil was 19.92 million tonne in 2017. The biggest importer of Malaysian Palm Oil is India, followed by the European Union and China.
On a little bit of history, the first commercial oil palm plantation in Malaysia was established at Tennamaram Estate in Selangor by Frenchman Henri Fauconnier in 1917, hence, Malaysia celebrates 100 years of its commercial oil palm industry.
The MPOB has carried out 100 collaborative projects with various international and national R&D institutions.
The respective agencies play the role to regulate, certify, impose standards, conduct R&D, promote, market, and protect the oil palm industry including through public awareness programmes, incentives and grants/ scholarships.
The briefing was conducted by MPOB Director – General Datuk Dr. Ahmad Kushairi Din, MPOC Chief Executive Officer Datuk Dr. Kalyana Sundram and MPOCC Acting CEO Dr. Sanath Kumaran.
