KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia must be quick to seek new markets for its palm oil to avoid losing out to its competitors.
Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok said that in light of the European Union’s (EU) decision to phase out the use of the commodity, many producing countries, including Malaysia, were already looking to other markets for the commodity.
“If we are slow, if we don’t promote our palm oil, we will lose out to our competitors,” she told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday.
Recently, the EU announced that it would stop importing palm oil sometime in the future. This has led to Malaysia threatening retaliatory actions.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has put forward a suggestion that Malaysia could buy products, such as fighter jets, from China rather than the EU if it proceeded with its proposal to ban the import of palm oil.
Kok said capturing alternative markets could help the Malaysian economy cushion the impact of an EU ban. “We began looking for new markets at the beginning of this year,” she added.
Malaysia is now pursuing markets in the Middle East, Africa and Pakistan. Other countries, also considered potential markets, have been identified and are being cultivated as well.
Kok said several of these countries had already expressed interest in buying Malaysian palm oil.
