Tuesday July 27, 2004 - MALAYSIA’S efforts to counter the smear campaignagainst palm oil and its promotion on the nutritional value of thecommodity among consumers in Europe have borne fruit.

According to Malaysian Palm Oil Promotion Council chief executive officerDatuk Haron Siraj, the council had distributed pamphlets to present thefacts about palm oil and refute allegations that the development of oilpalm estates in Malaysia had affected the survival of the orang utan.

He said established Malaysian plantation companies, like IOI Bhd andGolden Hope Plantations Bhd which had manufacturing businesses in Europe,had also helped to educate European consumers.

We are now better understood, he said after the opening of the council’sEnhancing the Sarawak Oil Palm Industry seminar by Plantation Industriesand Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui in Kuching yesterday.

Later, Chin said Malaysia had been successful in explaining to itsconsumers that be it palm oil or tropical timber, the country had producedthem in a way not to harm the environment, biodiversity and indigenouspeople.

Malaysia earned over RM26bil from the exports of palm oil last year, upfrom RM19.6bil in 2002, due to robust growth in export volume and strongerprices.