Malaysia to set up palm oil regional office in Iran, research institute in India

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will set up up a Malaysian Palm Oil Regional Office in Tehran, Iran, to explore the market potential for palm oil and other commodities in that country.
Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong said that due to the Middle East’s strategic location and its population of 80 million, it has a big potential to be a buyer of the oil palm and centre for the region.
“Since global trade sanctions were lifted in January last year, Malaysia exports about RM1 billion of palm oil to Iran and we are expecting the number to be doubled within the next two years,” he said in a press conference at Menara PGRM yesterday.
Mah said he will be making a five-day working visit to Tehran next week during which he will meet Iran’s health, finance, trade and industry and agriculture ministers to discuss the palm oil trade.
“The meeting is important because it will allow us to explain in detail and clear the concern Iran has on the health aspects of palm oil considering the huge amount of palm oil they may import from us,” he added.
During the press conference, Mah also disclosed that the government has agreed to the proposal to set up a palm oil research and technical institute in Mumbai, India.
He said the decision to open a research institute in India is due to the country’s status as the biggest importer of palm oil since 2014.
“At the same time, setting up a research institute in Mumbai will allow us to inform them about the benefits and nutritional value of palm oil,” Mah explained.
He added that he expects both the office and the research institute to be up and running by the middle of this year.