Thursday, September 12, 2002 (The Star) - THE Malaysian Palm Oil PromotionCouncil (MPOPC) plans to set up palm oil distribution centres in Africa,Central Asia and Eastern Europe to boost palm oil exports and establishnew markets in the respective regions, according to its regional marketcommittee chairman Victor Ngo.“We are in the process of identifying suitable locations for such centres,’’ Ngo told reporters after a seminar held in conjunction with the Palm OilTrade Awareness Programme (POTAP) 2002 – Africa, Central Asia and EasternEuropean in Petaling Jaya yesterday.He mentioned port cities such as Durban in South Africa, Mombassa inKenya, Dar-e-Salam in Tanzania and Odessa in the Ukraine as potentialsites to be developed as centralised hubs for Malaysian palm oil exports.“It’s more economical to send one big shipment from Malaysia to a singlepoint before distributing it to small buyers in the region,’’ Ngo said.Last year, Malaysian palm oil exports to the African continent and easternEuropean countries amounted to about half a million tonnes and 300,000respectively.Exports to South Africa reached 163,600 tonnes, Algeria 82,000 tonnes andNigeria 78,700 tonnes.Meanwhile, Ukraine bought 68,500 tonnes of Malaysian palm oil last yearand Russia 113,700 tonnes.“We have the potential to triple the amount within the next few years,’’Ngo said.The 5-day event organised by the MPOPC was to provide information on theMalaysian palm oil industry with special focus given to developing newmarkets for its products.Malaysia’s palm oil production this year is expected to reach 11.6 milliontonnes, of which 90% is exported.India, China and Pakistan account for a combined 40% of Malaysia’s totalpalm oil exports.With production both from Malaysia and Indonesia, the two biggest palm oilproducers in the world, set to rise further in the future, there is a needto develop new markets for palm oil products.