KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) Business Matching (BizMatch) programme will be instrumental in cultivating partnerships and collaborations between African delegates and Malaysian palm oil exporters.
The business matching programme is part of a broader MPOC initiative in which 10 prominent industry representatives from oils and fats companies in seven African countries visited Malaysia under a trade and networking four-day visit to raise exports of Malaysian palm oil and related products to Africa.
MPOC chief executive officer Belvinder Sron said the council expects a productive session and trusts that this initiative will catalyse fruitful exchanges and connections between the two regions.
The visit includes various activities to provide a comprehensive insight into the oil palm sector.
Belvinder said the visit is a key component of MPOC’s market development efforts and is the third programme organised this year.
It serves as a follow-up to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof’s visit to Kenya earlier in June when he inaugurated the Malaysian Palm Oil Forum 2023 and met key oils and fats industry stakeholders to explore export opportunities to the East African region. He is also the Plantation and Commodities Minister.
According to Belvinder, Sub-Saharan Africa relies heavily on palm oil as a key feedstock in the edible oil industry, accounting for 66 per cent of total oils and fats consumption in 2022.
The region’s growing demand for palm oil presents a substantial opportunity for Malaysian exports. In 2022, Malaysian palm oil exports to the Sub-Saharan region constituted 14.8 per cent of its total palm oil exports, with a total volume of 2.3 million tonnes.
In March 2023, MPOC led a group of 11 Malaysian palm oil exporters to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and organised trade networking activities in that region. This was followed by a visit by 18 buyers from the Philippines, Vietnam and Myanmar in June.-Bernama
