Palm-oil-based biodiesel to increase palm oil demand

IPOH: The increase in the use of palm-oil-based petroleum diesel bio-fuel will increase the demand of the commodity in the country.
Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong said this is among the steps taken by the government to stabilise the price of palm oil.
"The use of palm oil bio-fuel from 7% to 10%, which means using 700,000 metric tonnes annually now, will also increase the income of the plantation owners and smallholders," he said at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board's smallholders conference here today.
His speech was read by the board's chairman Datuk Wira Ahmad Hamzah.
He said the palm oil industry had undergone various phases of development which had contributed to the growth of the country's economy.
In 2015, Malaysia produced 19.96 million metric tonnes of palm oil and exports of palm oil products generated a sum of RM63.2 billion.
Mah said palm oil cultivation covered 5.67 million hectares, taking up 70% of the agriculture land in the country.