KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — The export revenue of palm oil and other palm-based products is expected to improve by 1.4 per cent to RM110 billion this year from RM108.52 billion in 2021, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) said.

Director-general Datuk Dr Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir said the higher revenue is expected to derive mainly from higher palm oil exports of 9.2 per cent to 17 million tonnes this year amid the shortage of global vegetable oils.

“The year 2022 is expected to bring a brighter prospect for the Malaysian palm oil industry with all the key indicators of the industry are projected to show a better performance,” he said at the Palm Oil Internet Seminar (Pointers) today.

He said MPOB anticipated crude palm oil (CPO) production to improve by 4.9 per cent to 19 million tonnes this year from 18.12 million tonnes in 2021, resulting in palm oil stocks to increase 21.1 per cent to 1.95 million tonnes from 1.61 million tonnes in 2021.

Ahmad Parveez said the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has resulted in a surge of demand for palm oil as it is the most abundantly available vegetable oil.

He said Russia and Ukraine produced sunflower oil, the world’s third-most traded vegetable oil after palm oil and soybean oil, and accounted for 77 per cent of the global exports of sunflower oil in 2020-2021.

He added that the increase in the Indonesian crude palm oil export levy has also benefitted Malaysian palm oil export.

Ahmad Parveez said the industry has successfully adapted to the new norms despite experiencing various hurdles domestically and globally.

He said he assured the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities that MPOB and other related agencies would continue to work closely with the industry players in facing the ongoing challenges for the sustenance of the local palm oil industry.

Meanwhile, Palm Oil Analytics owner and co-founder Dr Sathia Varqa, in his presentation, said CPO is expected to trade lower between RM5,300 and RM5,600 per tonne in April and reduced further to between RM5,000 and RM5,500 per tonne in May.

Themed “Assessing 2022: Managing Opportunities and Risks”, the seminar features six presentations covering topics such as supply and demand of oils and fats, price and market outlook and opportunities for palm oil in Central Asia and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) markets, among others.

The seminar runs from March 28 until April 1. — Bernama