KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- Research and Development (R&D)institutions such as the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) will continue tofocus on the sector, said MPOB's chairman Tan Sri Basir Ismail.

He said that only by indulging more in R&D can the industry progress andprosper further in line with the developments taking place in thetechnology sector.

So far this year, MPOB has managed to launch 30 new technologies in the upstream and down stream palm-based products, he said in his speech at theopening ceremony of the 2001 International Palm Oil Congress (2001 PIPOC),here Monday.

"It is hoped that through this congress, progress in R&D from all over theworld relating to oils and fats will be reported and shared by all for thebenefit of the industry," he said.

Meanwhile, Primary Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik saidthat MPOB is the first organisation outside the US and Europe to undertakeresearch in the cutting edge technology.

He said that the application of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) chiptechnology in oil palm was initiated in a collaboration programme withacompany from the Silicon Valley in the US in April last year.

Besides that, Dr Lim said that MPOB has also developed all the tools andtechniques required for the production of high oleic acid transgenic oilpalm through genetic engineering.

--BERNAMA