Africa Offers Enormous Mart Potentials For Malaysian Palm Oil, Says Minister

From Minggu Simon Lhasa JOHANNESBURG (South Africa), Dec 8 (Bernama) -- Africa, especially South Africa, offers enormous market potentials for Malaysia's palm oil industry, said Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Bernard Dompok. Dompok said palm oil uptake in the region has surged in recent years. "Last year, Malaysia exported 151,000 tonnes of palm oil to South Africa, up 32 per cent compared with 2010. "Up to September this year, palm oil export to South Africa reached 128,000 tonnes, an 11 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2009," he said in his keynote address at the Malaysia-South Africa Palm Oil Trade Fair and Seminar (POTS South Africa) Wednesday. The event is organised by Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) and its sister organisation, Malaysian Palm Oil Board. He urged Malaysian and South African business communities to grab the opportunities offered by the expanding market. "If the business communities can redefine the approach by forming partnerships and strategic alliances, then the opportunities are aplenty to expand the palm oil business. "Malaysian firms have been successful in the ventures with partners in the Netherlands, China, Japan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Liberia," he said. Dompok said Malaysia, together with South Africa and possibly countries in the Sub-Sahara Africa, should embark on a number of collaborative initiatives to further enhance trade relationships in the sector. He said the palm oil industry was one of the main pillars of the Malaysian economy, and last year, it contributed RM65.19 billion in revenue, or about 9.8 per cent, of the total export. "The industry also provided direct employment to over 570,000 Malaysians," he said. Dompok said this year, Malaysia was expected to produce 18.3 million tonnes of palm oil. Meanwhile, MPOC chairman, Lee Yeow Chor, said the oils and fats market in Africa has huge potentials based on low per capita consumption of less than 12kg compared with the world's average of 24.9kg. He said the main objective of POTS South Africa was to identify and optimise a pathway for Malaysian palm oil to penetrate the southern and eastern African markets. -- BERNAMA