25/01/2011 (Business Times) - Oil palm cultivation expanded by nearly 4.7 million hectares last year and has been listed as the second priority sector under the Economic Transformation Programme, said Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.

"It's a commendable achievement indeed compared to the 1970s, considering that oil palm is not indigenous to Malaysia," he said in his keynote address at the Reach & Teach Friends of The Industry: Challenges and Opportunities in 2011 seminar here today.

Dompok said the oil palm industry has been a constant contributor to the country’s export earnings and "I sincerely believe it will continue to do so in the long-term as well.”

He however said the country’s present and future oil palm expansion was limited due to unavailability of suitable land and was further compounded by non-governmental organisations' campaign to stop oil palm expansion.
 
“We're still fighting the anti-palm oil NGOs to explain that land occupied by oil palm is only 0.22 per cent of the total world agricultural areas and our country has enough permanent forest for conserving biodiversity,” he said.

Last year, palm oil and palm oil-based products exports generated RM59.77 billion; up RM9.77 billion compared to 2009.
The commodity is expected to contribute RM178 billion to the Gross National Income in 2020 from RM52.7 billion currently.

Dompok asked industry players to strengthen their competitive edge to compete with countries like Indonesia which is estimated to produce 22 million tonnes of palm oil while Malaysia 17.6 million tonnes.

Malaysian palm oil is currently exported to more than 150 countries.

"Today, palm oil is the leading edible oil traded and consumed globally, with a share of 56 per cent and 26 per cent of the total oils and fats, respectively,” he said.

China remains the biggest Malaysian palm oil importer