SMALLHOLDERS, especially those who have received good agricultural training are poised to benefit from the surge in crude palm oil (CPO) price, which is expected to continue to rise on the back of ongoing high demand.
Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) chairman Datuk Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub said CPO price has soared to an eight-year high of RM3,501.50.
“We expect the price to remain stable at RM3,400,” he said during Bernama TV’s Ruang Bicara talkshow programme on “Oil Palm Industry: A Blessing for the People and the Nation”.
He attributed the uptrend to the stabilisation of stock inventories and the increase in the demand shift to a shortage of other oil resources as a result of the La Nina weather pattern.
Ahmad Jazlan said that despite the COVID-19 pandemic-triggered global economic contraction, the country’s palm oil sector remained intact, driven by stable demand.
“Despite the opposition from the European Union, they are the third largest importer of palm oil after China and India.
“We are working to correct their negative perception of the local palm oil industry by introducing sustainable certification and at the same time finding new markets to explore,” he pointed out.
Ahmad Jazlan added that the oil palm industry played an important role in strengthening the country’s economy, where it had contributed about RM67.55 billion in terms of cash flow into the nation.
“The palm oil industry has also contributed 6.57% to gross domestic product (GDP),” he added. – Dec 3, 2020
