KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia must act fast in promoting its palm oil to new markets in the Middle East and Africa, says Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok. This is because other palm oil-producing countries are also trying their best to penetrate the markets there. “We see that many competing palm oil-producing nations have entered these new markets. “If we are slow and don’t promote our palm oil more aggressively, we might lose potential markets in those countries,” she told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

Kok said her deputy Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin and the Malaysian Palm Oil Council had been exploring new markets to export palm oil since the beginning of this year. She said Shamsul Iskandar had visited Pakistan and Ethiopia, while she herself is set to visit a few North African countries and attend a trade seminar in Saudi Arabia.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday that he had written to the European Union (EU) regarding its campaign against Malaysian palm oil.He has warned that Malaysia would retaliate against the move by boycotting certain European products.Kok said Malaysia would work together with Indonesia to widen the promotion of palm oil products. “We will definitely work with Indonesia. “Senior officers from Indonesia have already come to Malaysia to meet my officers. So, both countries will meet and discuss today (yesterday),” she said.

Kok said Malaysia and Indonesia shared 85% of the world’s total palm oil production. It was reported that the European Parliament is now in the process of banning the use of palm oil for biofuel, while several retailers in Britain and Iceland have announced a boycott of palm oil products.

Source : The Star