Monday August 16, 2004 - SARAWAK's crude palm oil (CPO) exports exceededthe RM1bil mark last year with production increasing by 20.1% to 886,474tonnes from 737,864 in the previous year, said Planning and ResourceManagement Minister Datuk Awang Tengah Ali.

He said in his speech at a seminar on Palm Oil Cultivation In Peat SoilMoving Forward in Sibu on Saturday that the export value in 2002 stood atRM920.29mil.

Awang Tengah said that in 2003 the average CPO price increased by 13.2%(or RM180) to RM1,544 per tonne compared with RM1,363 in 2002.

This was due to increased production and exports of palm oil in asituation of tight world supply of oils and fats, he said.

Higher matured hectarage had led to the increase in oil extraction rate,he added.

He said the Government's liberal export tax and barter trade policies hadhelped to strengthen the CPO prices. Bernama