MUMBAI, 30 July 2019, (GPN):– The 6^th Malaysia-India Palm Oil Trade Fair and Seminar (POTS) has been officiated by the Honourable Madam Teresa Kok, Malaysia Primary Industries Minister today in Mumbai. Themed “Malaysian Palm Oil: Enhancing Relationships and Harvesting Opportunities,” the event aims to bring together various stakeholders in the palm oil industry to network and to share the latest developments pertaining to this important industry whilst imparting knowledge on the challenges, opportunities and prospects of palm oil in the global oils and fats market.

Speakers at the seminar are renowned industry captains and experts from Malaysia, India, and Germany. The papers presented cover topics on oils and fats ranging from market challenges to price outlook, and palm oil applications to health.

In her speech during the launch of the seminar, Madam Teresa Kok said that the event itself, the sixth POTS organised in India reflects Malaysia’s appreciation of India and the importance of India to the Malaysian palm oil industry.

As at May 2019, the total Malaysian palm oil imported by India is 2.16 million tonnes, an increase of 76% compared to the corresponding period in 2018. This is due to the MICECA trade agreement signed between both governments, effective January 2019. Palm oil in India is mainly used as a cooking oil for both industrial and domestic sectors. The usage of palm oil can be expanded further to confectioneries products such as chocolates, bakeries such as cookies and bread, nutraceutical derivatives such as Vitamin A beta carotene and Vitamin E tocotrienols, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

According to Madam Teresa Kok, the total trade between Malaysia and India has increased by 2.2% to USD15.56 billion in 2018 from USD 14.29 billion in 2017, comprising palm oil, oils and gas, automobiles, chemicals, and finished goods. Meanwhile, Malaysian foreign direct investment (FDI) in India from April 2000 to March 2019, stood at USD 932.19 million.

Addressing to meia persons on the bilateral trade between Malaysia and India, Madam Teresa Kok said, “India is one of our most important export destinations. We should also explore new areas for further cooperation and rejuvenate our business linkages and cooperation, to ensure continuous progress of the palm oil industry.”

Over the years, a large number of world-renowned companies have collaborated with Malaysian partners through joint ventures in the downstream sector. This is not only because of readily available palm oil and palm kernel oil, but also because Malaysia offers the right policies for the growth of palm oil business,” she added.

Madam Teresa Kok also urged the private sectors of the two countries to explore areas for further cooperation and rejuvenate business linkages, in order to ensure continuous progress of the bilateral trade between the two countries. In the upstream sector, opportunities exist in technology innovation, farm mechanization, agricultural expertise and raw materials management. One such example is the development in genome sequencing for palm oil, where the related expertise in biotechnology has been made available. Such progression ultimately benefits breeders, producers and consumers of palm oil.

Malaysia-India POTS 2019 is the 58^th of its series since its introduction in 2006.  This is the 6^th POTS held in India, to address the oils and fats trade community. Malaysia-India POTS 2019 is organised jointly by Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) and Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), with the support from the Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA) of India.

MPOC is a Council under the Ministry of Primary Industries, Malaysia.  Its role is to promote the market expansion of Malaysian palm oil and its products by enhancing the image of palm oil and creating better acceptance of palm oil through awareness of various technological and economic advantages (techno-economic advantages) and environmental sustainability.

The Council  has set up a network of ten offices all over the world mainly in China (Shanghai), India (Mumbai), Pakistan (Lahore), Bangladesh (Dhaka), Middle East (Istanbul and Cairo), Europe (Brussels and Russia), Africa (Accra) and Americas (Washington DC) to support, promote and venture into new areas for the industry.

The plantation industry, particularly palm oil, is one of the main pillars of the economy.  The palm oil sector has contributed significantly towards providing a continuous inflow of export earnings through the export of raw commodity and valued-added products to the global market. In 2018, palm oil contributed RM 67.5 billion in export earnings and accounted 27.1% of world’s palm oil production and 32.9% of total palm oil exports.

The country today enjoys its economic prosperity and development through a strong foundation set by the industry and contribution in terms of export earnings and employment. It has long put into place guidelines, research, industrial and environmental standards that provide a safe, high quality Trans free oil in a manner that supports the local economy, preserves the environmental resource base and is economically viable. Practices are constantly reviewed to ensure that best agricultural and management practices evolve in line with new research findings and international standards. Ends