KL, Jakarta to appoint 'Ambassador of Palm Oil'

Putra Jaya: Malaysia and Indonesia plan to appoint an "Ambassador of Palm Oil" to promote the benefits of consuming palm oil products in the international market.Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong, said anti-palm oil lobbying group has given a lot of misrepresentations about the edible vegetable oil.

He said producers were now facing the evolving non-tariff barriers in major importing countries.

"These include food products with 'No Palm Oil' labels and proposal to impose high import tax on palm oil products.

This is a form of discrimination to us," he said.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Sabah revenue hits RM6.97 billion: Hajiji says GRS State Government may see full term

Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Government continued its momentum in managing the economy in line with the commitment and spirit of the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) when it posted record high state revenue of RM6.973 billion last year.

Mah said this to reporters after co-chairing the Ministerial Meeting of the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) with Indonesia's Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Resources, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, here Tuesday.

Luhut Binsar said the ambassador must be a person who was influential and has a good image to represent the countries in promoting the palm oil products.

"We have some names but we like to discuss in detail with Datuk Seri (Mah)," he said.

He said the two countries also agreed to cooperate in promoting the use of biodiesel in other countries especially in China.

"China is looking to overcome the environmental problems and we are trying to convince the Chinese government that B5 or B10 biodiesel can bring some good impacts," he said.

The B5 or B10 biodiesel are a blend of five-10 per cent palm methyl ester and 90-95 per cent regular diesel.

On the meeting, Mah said, both countries agreed to contribute US$5 million (US$1 = RM4.05) each initially to the operate the CPOPC secretariat.

"The ministers also agreed that CPOPC secretariat organises ministerial missions to major importing countries, including European Union, to address concerns on palm oil from its nutritional and developmental perspestives," he said.

Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.

Daily Express Malaysia

Mah said eight palm oil producing countries – Thailand, Nigeria, Colombia, Papua New Guinea, Ivory Coast, Honduras, Guatemala and Brazil – were interested to join the CPOPC.

"The establishment of CPOPC is expected to further strengthen cooperation and collaboration among palm oil producing countries and address evolving issues related to palm oil," he said. – Bernama

Try 1 month for RM 18.00

Try 1 month for RM 18.00

Try 1 month for RM 18.00