KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 — Japanese traders continue to favour Malaysian palm oil given its reliable supply, quality and assurance of sustainability, underpinned by the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification Scheme.

In a statement, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) Chairman, Datuk Lee Yeow Chor said Malaysian palm oil accounted for 71 per cent or 502,000 tonnes of the total palm oil imported into Japan.

"The Japanese trade and industry has specifically appreciated Malaysia’s bold moves to make the MSPO Certification Scheme mandatory by January 2020. and moved the notch higher, when the 2020 Tokyo Olympics recognised the MSPO as one of the certification systems for the procurement of Certified Sustainable Palm Oil,” he added.

The statement was issued following a special Malaysia-Japan Palm Oil Trade Dialogue and Seminar organised by the MPOC, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board and Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation in Tokyo on July 9.

The seminar focused on maintaining the existing business relationships between Japanese and Malaysian partners, and at the same time, for the local palm oil industry players to explore new opportunities through potential Japanese innovations and technologies.

The MPOC said in 2017, oils and fats consumption in Japan increased two per cent to 2.85 million tonnes from 2016, while oils and fats imports rose steadily by 5.2 per cent over 2016 to 1.02 million tonnes.

"This trend is likely to continue in the future in tandem with growing local demand and products use diversification,” it added. — Bernama