09/05/2008 (The Edge Daily), Kuala Lumpur - Crude palm oil (CPO) price is expected to breach the RM3,600 per tonne mark on the back of escalating crude oil prices, although it is expected to hover between RM3,500 and RM3,600 in the short term.

“This is due to the current high market demand and also the shortages of vegetable oil supply in world market,” said Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin.

Answering a question on commodities in Parliament yesterday, Chin said palm oil export to European Union countries had reduced by 14.2% to 4.2 million tonnes from 4.91 million tonnes in 2006.

“However, it has increased in value by 24.5% to RM7.38 billion compared with RM5.93 billion in 2006.

“One of the reasons that resulted in the reduction in total export was the lower demand from the non-food sector especially from the biofuel industry due to the hike in CPO prices,” said Chin.

He also said exports of CPO and palm oil products to United States had increased by 15.5% to 1.33 million tonnes from 1.16 million tonnes in 2006 while the value had increased from RM2.2 billion in 2006 to RM3.47 billion.

In a reply to a supplementary question on what are the ministry was doing to increase productivity, Chin said there were many schemes to help the planters, especially the small holdings.

“The smallholding planters owns 40% of the total palm oil plants in the country, hence the schemes are important to help them,” he said.

Chin also told the house that the ministry had taken various steps to counter the anti-palm oil campaigns.