12/02/2008 (Xinhua), Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's export value of palm oil recorded 37.54 billion ringgit (11.37 billion U.S. dollars in 2007, up 45.5 percent compared with the previous year.

The growth of the country's palm oil exports was driven by higher prices of crude palm oil on the market, according to preliminary statistics unveiled by Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade and Industry here on Tuesday.

The average price of crude palm oil advanced by 63.1 percent to2,453.21 ringgit (743.40 U.S. dollars per ton in 2007, while the price was at 1,504.38 ringgit (455.87 U.S. dollars per ton in 2006,the ministry said.

Malaysia and Indonesia are two major palm oil producers in the world. Palm oil is also Malaysia's second largest category of export product, after electrical and electronic goods.

Malaysia also imports palm oil from Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Papua New Guinea each year. Its import value of palm oil posted 2.0 billion ringgit (606.06 million U.S. dollars in 2007, up 21.8 percent compared with the previous year.