The 6th Reach & Remind Friends of the Industry Seminar 2015 & Dialogue was recently organised by MPOC on 12 February 2015, at the Putrajaya Marriott Hotel. The event was a rousing success, which saw almost 400 stakeholders from the Malaysian palm oil industry giving their support in attending the seminar and dialogue.
YB Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Malaysia, accompanied by YB Dato’ Noriah Kasnon, Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Malaysia and other notable industry stewards were present. YB Minister later launched the ‘Grown by the People, for the People’ book, as well as MPOC’s 2015 Essay Competition and World Palm Portraits Photography Competition during the Opening Ceremony.
The highlight of the 6th Reach & Remind event was the dialogue with YB Minister, which presented the Malaysian palm oil industry an opportunity to raise issues that reflected the event’s theme, ‘Creating greater market opportunities in 2015’. Here, the stakeholders mostly shared their concerns with tax requirements and labour related issues that affected Malaysian palm oil’s competitiveness.
Following the dialogue, the event also saw 6 papers presented, namely:
- 2015 Outlook for the Malaysian palm oil industry (MPOC)
- Biodiesel industry’s role in the palm oil mix (MBA)
- Full Outturn Guarantee (FOG): assisting the palm oil industry to reduce potential transit losses (ATS)
- Sustainability certifications: how far and how deep should the Malaysian palm oil industry commit? (MPOA)
- Global demands for CSPO – where are the markets headed? (RSPO)
- MSPO: milestones, adoption and implementation (MPOB)
A roundtable with the theme ‘Strategies and tools for enhancing global market access of Malaysian palm oil in 2015’, which was participated by panellists from SOPPOA, Sime Darby Plantation Sdn Bhd and MPOC fittingly rounded off the one day event by facilitating further discussions amongst the stakeholders on the challenges and opportunities faced by the industry in 2015. Towards the end of the event, the feedbacks from the participants were very encouraging, many stating that the Malaysian palm oil industry should see more of such programmes being organised.
Note: Approved presentations (in PDF format) are now available and can be downloaded from MPOC’s website, www.mpoc.org.my. The ‘Grown by the People, for the People’ book can be purchased at RM20 per copy from MPOC as well. Please contact MPOC for more information.
