EXPORTS revenue coming from the Middle Eastern region is expected to have a positive short-term outlook following the number of events happening in the region namely the ongoing World Expo 2020 Dubai, FIFA 2022 in Qatar and the full resumption of Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage, the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) said.
Deputy minister Datuk Willie Anak Mongin said Malaysia saw the Middle Eastern region as an important economic and export destination for the country.
“If we can achieve an increment of between one to two per cent is considered very good at a time when the country is still at war with the COVID-19 pandemic,” he told Bernama at the launch of the Malaysian Palm Oil Full of Goodness campaign on Wednesday (Feb 9).
The campaign will see Malaysian palm oil-based products such as food products, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals be made available at LuLu Hypermarkets in Dubai.
This is following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) and the Indian multinational conglomerate, which operates 224 retail stores in 22 countries, during the opening of the Sustainable Agricommodities (Food Agricommodities) Week at the Malaysia Pavilion in Expo 2020 Dubai.
Willie said Malaysia has had similar cooperation with Japan before in the Paralympic Games where the country has recognised palm oil.
He said Japan has acknowledged Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) and it has helped the country to further promote the local palm oil-based product there.
Earlier in his speech, Willie said the Middle Eastern region imported 2.34 million tonnes of Malaysian palm oil, which is an increase of 8.2% as compared to the same period in 2020.
He said countries like Turkey, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) accounted for 84% of the total Malaysian palm oil exports to the Middle Eastern region.
The deputy minister said as a major hub in the Middle East, the UAE has always been Malaysia’s largest export destination and second-largest source of import in this region and served as a gateway for Malaysia to penetrate new markets in the wider region.
He said the UAE palm oil market itself is currently the fourth largest importer of palm oil in the Arab world and, according to the Grand View Research Inc report, is expected to reach US$467.1 mil by 2025.
“We sincerely hope that the launch of this consumer campaign and signing of the MOU held recently will open more doors for Malaysia’s palm oil and palm oil-based products to a bigger market in this country,” he said. – Feb 10, 2022
