Zuraida: Malaysia's palm oil potential remains intact despite softening CPO prices
09/08/2022 (The Edge Markets), Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia’s palm oil potential remains intact despite softening crude palm oil (CPO) prices, and its prospects remain bright in the second half of 2022 (2H22), according to Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin.
She said this is partly due to greater acceptance of the commodity globally, including in non-traditional markets.
“We attribute this to the success of the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities’ campaign — The Global Movement to Champion the Goodness of Palm Oil — which is intended to counter misinformation and false information on our number one commodity,” she said in a statement on Tuesday (Aug 9).
The minister shared that Malaysian palm oil and palm oil-based product exports rose by 55.2% to RM67.48 billion in January to June, from RM43.47 billion in the corresponding period in 2021.
She said 66.1% of the export earnings were contributed by palm oil, which amounted to RM44.63 billion, compared with only RM28.8 billion in the same period last year.
In terms of volume, exports of palm oil and palm oil-based products in January to June rose by 2.8% to 11.47 million tonnes, from 11.15 million tonnes a year ago.
“Malaysia recorded strong exports despite a drop in CPO production in 1H22. Based on statistics by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, CPO production fell by 1.1% to 8.27 million tonnes during the period, compared with 8.36 million tonnes during 1H21.
“The fall was attributed to a dip in fresh fruit bunch yield by 3.6% to 6.9 tonnes per hectare during the January-June 2022 period, from 7.16 tonnes per hectare in the same period last year,” she said.
Meanwhile, Zuraida said the sharp rise in export earnings was partly due to a spike in CPO prices, both domestically and abroad, whereby between January and June, CPO prices rose by 55.9% to RM6,330 per tonne, from RM4,061.50 per tonne during the same period in 2021.
Citing the Department of Statistics Malaysia, she said export earnings from palm oil and palm oil-based products from January to May rose to RM56.47 billion, or an increase of 58.8%, compared with the figure recorded in the first five months of 2021.