Ample Opportunities For Investment In Palm Oil Industry: Minister

From Alan Ting Leong Kuang SUINING (Southwest China), Sept 15 (Bernama) -- There are ample oppurtunities to explore investment in the palm oil industry in valued-added downstream activities such as oleochemicals, pharmaceuticals, processed food, speciality products and even consumer products, said Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Douglas Uggah Embas. Speaking to the Chinese commodities traders here during a seminar on the market potential for palm oil, rubber and pepper products from Malaysia, he urged the Chinese traders and importers to explore new areas of cooperation and to enhance current business linkages, especially in the palm oil industry. "Through years of research and development, Malaysia has made available new palm-based products for both food and non-food sectors, including tocotrienol and other nutraceutical products," he said. Malaysia is a major producer and exporter of palm oil in the world. In 2013, Malaysia exported palm oil valued at US$20.38 billion. In the case of China, it is a major export destination for Malaysia, accounting for 20.4 per cent of total exports. In 2013, exports of palm oil and palm oil products to China were worth US$2.92 billion. Apart from that, Uggah explained that Malaysia is also a major producer of rubber and rubber products, exporting US$202.5 million worth of products to China in 2013, and hoped this could be increased further in future. "As leading exporter of rubber gloves, there are oppurtunities to further promote rubber products in China, such as automotive components and rubber bearings which can be used in infrastructure development," he said. Malaysia's rubber bearings are made of high-quality natural rubber designed to dampen vibration and have excellent resistance to fatique. In terms of pepper, Malaysia exported pepper products valued at US$88.1 million in 2013, while total export of pepper products to China last year was worth US$9 million. --BERNAMA