World palmoil output up

World palmoil output up

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia, the world's largest producer of palm oil, Saturday said world production of the commodity will record only a marginal increase in 1998 due to drought and haze.

"... the prediction is that 1998 will not see a big increase in palm oil production, about 0.2 million tons," said Hishamuddin Tun Hussein, deputy minister of the primary industries ministry.

"This is on account of a number of factors including the drought effect of El Nio, lower expansion in planted areas, the haze and also the downsizing effect of the natural biological cycle," he said.

Hishamuddin said in 1997, world production of palm oil stood at 17.4 million tons. He made the comment in his opening remarks to the ninth annual palm and lauric oils price outlook forum 1998/1999 here.

Millions of people in Singapore, Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia were affected by a severe haze in the latter half of 1997, triggering an international effort to douse Indonesian forest fires which caused it.