KL looks for new palm oil markets

KL looks for new palm oil markets

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia, the world's largest palm oil producer, is focusing on developing countries with very low oil consumption in a stepped up bid to enlarge its share of the global market, officials said yesterday.

Industry officials said the development of new markets was necessary as the country diversified its focus out of market- saturated industrialized nations.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Promotion Council (MPOPC), which promotes the commodity, has targeted countries like China, India and Pakistan where oil and fats consumption was well below the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended level of 25 kilograms (55 pounds) per person a year, officials said.

"India and China, with its annual per capita consumption of six kilograms and 8.6 kilograms (of oil and fats) respectively, are potentially big markets, " MPOPC chief executive Mohd Yusof Hashim was reported Wednesday as saying.

The United States in comparison had the highest per capita consumption at 40 kilograms and was trying to reduce consumption, Yusof said.

Officials said the MPOPC had allocated 12.5 million ringgit (US$5 million) this year to develop new markets including South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Burma and the former Soviet Union.

"For our existing markets, we have appointed marketing representatives in Egypt, Venezuela, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and China, while an office was opened in Chicago," Yusof said.

Officials said Malaysia's palm oil production was projected to increase to 7.8 million tons this year from 7.2 million tons in 1993 with about 90 percent for export.

Exports grew by nine percent last year, with China emerging as the single largest buyer at 1.3 million tons.

Malaysian palm oil makes up about 38 percent of the international oil and fats trade.