MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Malaysia Seeks Palm Oil Deals with PH Investors
Malaysia Seeks Palm Oil Deals with PH Investors
14/07/2015 (Manila Standard Today) - Malaysian palm oil investors are exploring partnerships with Filipino companies to invest in both the Philippines and Malaysia.
The Selangor state government of Malaysia is pursuing Filipino businessmen to invest in Selangor and helping Malaysian companies at the same time in exploring business opportunities in the Philippines.
“We want to increase intra-Asean trade which will be boosted by the investments from the Philippines,” Malaysian Palm Oil Council chairman Lee Yeow Chor said during a recent trade fair at the Makati Shangri-La Manila hotel in Makati City.
The Malaysian team said a successful palm oil production and trade would require an investment $2.3 billion in the next eight years.
Malaysian investors also urged the Philippine government to free up as much as 360,000 hectares of land for oil palm cultivation.
Local lands planted to oil palm have gradually increased by an average of 7.6 percent a year from 38,599 hectares in 2008 to 53,014 hectares in 2012, data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics showed.
The Philippines obtains about 90 percent of its palm oil requirement from Malaysia. Palm oil imports in 2014 amounted to 620,000 metric tons, mostly from Malaysia.
The Malaysian group is banking on forecasts of a disruption in coconut oil production for more two years. The situation may force several countries to rely on palm oil for their food preparation and non-food applications.
“The challenge for the Philippines is to participate in the world production and global supply of palm oil,” said Chor.
The Trade Department is looking at the Philippines as the next global producer of palm oil with assistance from Malaysian experts.
“Malaysia has been our potential partners for long. With the ongoing cyclical low production of coconut supply due to calamities, there is extreme pressure from the coconut industry to produce more,” Trade Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya said.
“Fortunately, palm oil complements coconut oil. Our local players get supply from Malaysia that has always been there to answer our demand for oil and fats,” she said
The Philippines accounted for just a small portion of Malaysia’s total palm oil exports of 70 million MT in 2014.
The Selangor state government of Malaysia is pursuing Filipino businessmen to invest in Selangor and helping Malaysian companies at the same time in exploring business opportunities in the Philippines.
“We want to increase intra-Asean trade which will be boosted by the investments from the Philippines,” Malaysian Palm Oil Council chairman Lee Yeow Chor said during a recent trade fair at the Makati Shangri-La Manila hotel in Makati City.
The Malaysian team said a successful palm oil production and trade would require an investment $2.3 billion in the next eight years.
Malaysian investors also urged the Philippine government to free up as much as 360,000 hectares of land for oil palm cultivation.
Local lands planted to oil palm have gradually increased by an average of 7.6 percent a year from 38,599 hectares in 2008 to 53,014 hectares in 2012, data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics showed.
The Philippines obtains about 90 percent of its palm oil requirement from Malaysia. Palm oil imports in 2014 amounted to 620,000 metric tons, mostly from Malaysia.
The Malaysian group is banking on forecasts of a disruption in coconut oil production for more two years. The situation may force several countries to rely on palm oil for their food preparation and non-food applications.
“The challenge for the Philippines is to participate in the world production and global supply of palm oil,” said Chor.
The Trade Department is looking at the Philippines as the next global producer of palm oil with assistance from Malaysian experts.
“Malaysia has been our potential partners for long. With the ongoing cyclical low production of coconut supply due to calamities, there is extreme pressure from the coconut industry to produce more,” Trade Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya said.
“Fortunately, palm oil complements coconut oil. Our local players get supply from Malaysia that has always been there to answer our demand for oil and fats,” she said
The Philippines accounted for just a small portion of Malaysia’s total palm oil exports of 70 million MT in 2014.