Pam oil producers hope to gain from health concern
Pam oil producers hope to gain from health concern
SINGAPORE (AFP): Malaysian palm-oil producers launched a promotional blitz in Singapore yesterday to flaunt the virtues of their product as part of a campaign to increase its share in the world oils and fats market.
The Palm Oil Week was billed as an event to increase public awareness of the nutritional and health benefits of the oil amid rising public concern over the detrimental effects of excessive consumption of oils and fats.
Ani Arope, chairman of the Malaysian Palm Oil Promotional Council, said the product would benefit from such concern.
Fats consumed in the west are mostly derived from animal sources, which contain relatively high levels of cholesterol compared to fats and oils derived from plant sources, he said.
Palm oil, which contains elements identified as possible anti- cancer agents and which helps reduce the risk of heart disease and has no cholesterol, was an ideal substitute for oils and fats available in many countries, Arope said.
"The competitiveness of palm oil has led to the rapid displacement of other oils and fats in many markets in addition to the increased share of palm oil in new areas of food and non- food usage," he added.
The industry has perfected a process that can now produce red palm oil, which contains an unusually high content of nutritional elements such as Vitamin E and beta-carotene, a precursor of Vitamin A, Arope said.
The new product will be the focus of promotional campaigns in the coming years, he said.
Malaysia is the world's largest producer and exporter of palm oil, accounting for 53 percent of world output and 64 percent of trade. Last year, Malaysia produced 7.2 million tons of palm oil.
One-third of the country's cultivated area supports the oil palm, known as Malaysia's golden crop.
The world production of oils and fats totaled 88 million tons in 1994 and is expected to reach 100 million tons by 2000, with palm oil contributing 20.7 million tons or one fifth of the total.
The greatest demand for palm oil is expected to come from the burgeoning Asian economies.
China was the single largest buyer of Malaysian palm oil last year, with imports exceeding 1.3 million tons, followed by Pakistan with 1.14 million tons.
The promotional event in Singapore includes a display of palm- oil products, workshops on nutrition and healthy cooking, fitness programs and health checks, cooking demonstrations and contests and video shows.