Malaysia oil palm growers to face competition from RI
Malaysia oil palm growers to face competition from RI
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Malaysian oil palm growers need new
strategies to retain their key role in the industry, where
Indonesia is becoming an increasingly important player, a senior
Malaysian palm oil official said.
"The Malaysian palm oil industry needs a shift in its strategy
from one of expansion towards competitive orientation," said
Yusof Basiron, director-general of the Palm Oil Research
Institute of Malaysia (PORIM).
"This is due to the limited availability of land and labor for
further expansion in oil palm cultivation and the increasing
availability of other (foreign) palm oil producers," Yusof said
at an economic conference.
Malaysia's palm oil sector had grown almost unabated in the
last three decades to become the world's largest but the
situation could change in the next 15 years, Yusof said.
"It is envisaged that around the year 2010, Indonesia will
become the leading producer of palm oil in the world," he said,
adding that abundant cheap labor and vast tracts of land were
reasons for this.
Indonesia is expected to produce only 4.73 million tons of
palm oil this year against Malaysia's 7.6 million tons, Yusof
said.
But by the year 2010, Indonesia's output could rise to as much
as 12.29 million tons compared to the 11.05 million tons expected
from Malaysia, he said.
The Malaysian government has encouraged local oil palm growers
and refiners to set up operations in Indonesia to keep their
competitive edge. Among Malaysian companies which have ventured
into Indonesia are Kumpulan Guthrie, Far East Bhd, Island and
Peninsular Bhd, Tradewinds Bhd and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd.
Yusof said that to be further competitive, Malaysian oil palm
growers should maximize income from cultivation activities,
exploit all potential value-added uses of palm oil and, if
possible, waste nothing from the crop.
He said PORIM has introduced high-yielding plants and machines
to reduce labor requirements, improve productivity and earnings
and cut down on costs.
Ice-cream, non-dairy creamers, salad dressings, cheese, auto
fuel and lubricants, glycerol, skin care products and inks are
among more innovative uses of palm oil discovered in recent
years, Yusof said.
He added that wood from palm oil trees were found to be a rich
source of Vitamins A and E and could also be used for particle
and medium-density fiber-board, wool, pulp, paper and carbon
manufacturing.
"The industry has to develop new technologies or new uses for
palm oil, which means expanding the edible and non-edible uses,"
he said.