Tuesday, August 7, 2001(The Star) - Malaysian companies have been asked tolook into the possibility of exporting the country's expertise in managingoil palm plantations and palm oil refining instead of just the commodity.According to Malaysian Palm Oil Promotion Council (MPOPC) chief executiveofficer Datuk Haron Siraj, Malaysia is leading the world in the palm oilbusiness and has the technical expertise to help other countries set uptheir palm oil operations."Although many Malaysian companies are reluctant to invest or buy oil palmland overseas because of issues relating to land tenure and security, wefeel this should not prevent them from exporting their management andtechnical skills," he said.Haron told reporters this during a programme on palm oil trade awarenessorganised by the MPOPC for 25 businessmen from east Europe and Africa inPetaling Jaya yesterday.Haron said that cultural and language barriers also posed challenges toMalaysian companies wanting to set up palm oil plantations abroad.Haron said that in addition to providing technical skills, Malaysiancompanies could export the equipment used in the oil palm plantation andrefining business."The MPOPC will continue to encourage palm oil consumption amongestablished markets and promote the edible oil in new markets in northAfrica and west Asia," he said. "Bangladesh and Vietnam had increasedtheir import of our crude palm oil in the 1st half of this year comparedwith the corresponding period last year.