26/02/2006 (ABC Asia Pacific)  - A leading figure in Malaysia's palm oil industry says the country is likely to lose its long-held status as the world's top palm oil producer to Indonesia within the next two years.

Carl Bek-Nielsen, vice chairman of major Malaysian palm oil producer United Plantations, has attributed Indonesia's ascent to aggressive planting and the large number of palm oil trees reaching maturity.

At the same time, Malaysian oil palm trees are undergoing a "biological yield cycle downturn" and production has also been affected by low rainfall.

And he says in future, Malaysia will lack the type of land needed for oil palm cultivation.