| Interview |
june-july, 2020 | The Health
27
MPOC’s mission is to
promote Malaysian palm
oil universally. In the
first quarter, our sales
of palm oil on a global
scale went down about
25 per cent compared
to the same period in
2019 due to the Covid-19
pandemic. It is not just
for palm oil. We are
competing with 17 other
oils and fats globally, all
the competing oils had a
reduction in overall sales
or consumption. So we
are just moving on the
global trench.”
work through the Malaysian Palm Oil
Board (MPOB) and other research data
which is available. But often the research
data goes into shared reviews on scientific
theories. Unless you are a dedicated lipid
scientist or a nutritionist, the chances are
that you will miss the information.
People in the public health domain
can and will miss some of the latest
information. The onus is on us to prevail
and provide the latest news. It is not an
easy task because we have to reach out to
the health professionals, consumers and
lay consumers as well. It is a mindboggling
effort, very time consuming and very
challenging to take science-based facts
and rematch them into language that
your reader, a consumer or a layperson can
understand and adopt.
What has been the response
to the MPOC’s ‘Love My Palm
Oil Campaign’?
Our teams used to go out to
shopping malls, universities,
schools, meeting people
and explaining. Now, the
current pandemic has
put a big barrier to these
engagements. We are
reinventing ourselves to do
this electronically. The next
phase will come a little later.
We’ve put in latest palm oil information
on our website. We also plan to do
additional webinars. In the upcoming
months from June onwards, we will do
webinars and educational programs
on health, nutrition and sustainability.
That is the way we are sharing updated
information on all things palm oil related
as we move forward.
But generally speaking, in the previous
12 months of this campaign, the knowledge
about palm oil improved. People have
higher appreciation on what palm oil is all
about. For example, in Malaysia, whether
you like it or not, a large part of the fat
in our diets comes from palm oil. You go
to restaurants and carters, and they’re
all cooking with palm oil. You go home,
and there is a bottle of palm oil or palm
olein. The message that we sent the last 12
months is “regular oil: safe, healthy and
nutritious”. And you will come to no harm
from consuming it, as long as you consume
it at the right level and not overeat or lead
an unhealthy lifestyle. I think that message
filtered in very nicely to many of those
reading and receiving the information.
MPOC’s mission is to promote
Malaysian palm oil universally. In the
first quarter, our sales of palm oil on a
global scale went down about 25 per cent
compared to the same period in 2019 due
to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is not just for
palm oil. We are competing with 17 other
oils and fats globally, all the competing
oils had a reduction in overall sales or
consumption. So we are just moving on the
global trench.
How do you see demand for palm oil
moving forward?
Our monthly output of palm oil will
increase. Also, the demand side from
consumer countries is beginning to pick
up because the primary use of palm oil
is still as a food commodity. It is also
used for bio-fuel, bio-diesel and
other non-food applications.
But 80 per cent of palm oil
production is as food. Food
security will become an
essential requirement for any
nation that comes out of the
lockdown, and affordability
is going to be a big issue. Palm
oil will likely stand out as a
winner when we emerge out of
the pandemic.
Better outlook for palm
oil prices next year
The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) is optimistic that
palm oil prices which are currently hovering at around the
RM2,200 level, will improve throughout this and next year.
Its CEO Datuk Dr Kalyana Sundram forecasts the price
could rise beyond RM2,300 to RM2,500 per tonne next year.
Currently, it is above RM2,200 and said he would be happy if it
remained at around the RM2,350 level this year.
Sundram said that despite the constraints due to the Covid-19
pandemic, MPOC’s target this year of RM2,300 and above per
tonne could still be achieved. “We probably look forward to a
higher price level in 2021,” he said.
In the first quarter of 2020, sales of palm oil on a global scale
has gone down by about 25 per cent compared to the same
period in 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sundram said palm oil was always sold at a discount
compared to other oils such as soybean and corn. He sees this as
a positive trading opportunity for palm oil to gain market share
post the pandemic as well.
“Palm oil trades at a discount to the other competing oils
and is cheaper, and we suspect that this is going to drive the
consumption of palm oil particularly in the developing countries
which are our major markets and our consumption of palm oil
globally will pick up,” he said.
The market for palm oil in the EU is stagnating this period in
2020 with two major EU palm oil consuming countries, Spain
and Italy, being “the hardest hit” by the Covid-19 pandemic, said
Sundram. But regardless of the downturn, he believes palm oil
demand will return slowly and steadily.
“If you look at the makeup of the palm oil utilisation in Europe,
about 60 per cent of palm oil imported to Europe has been used
for bio-diesel / renewable energy and about 35 per cent for food
applications,” he said.
Sundram also said the cap imposed by the Malaysian
government on the expansion of oil palm plantations in the
country would not lead to supply constraints. “Currently,
our production capacity is 20 million tonnes per annum. Our
plantations have a yield of four to six tonnes per hectares while
for smallholders, it is lower at around 3.2-3.5 tonnes.
“Our goal is to achieve a yield of six tonnes per hectare
through better plantation management practices. This will
enable our production to increase to at least 30 million tonnes
per annum. Therefore, better utilisation of land and increased
yield output per hectare will be the driver for the palm oil industry
in future,” he said.
Malaysian Palm Oil
Council (MPOC) CEO
Datuk Dr Kalyana
Sundram acted quickly.
He did not mince his
words when he said
the WHO “should
focus on coming up
with radically different
health management
ideas instead of falling
back on antiquated
messages”.
What is the status of Malaysia’s palm oil
trade with India?
There are reports India is coming back
into the market, which is a good sign. But
today, India is requesting for Crude Palm Oil
(CPO). It’s because they have a lot of refining
capacity built onshore in India, and because
of the lockdown, they are operating less
than optimally. We hope to see continuous
improvement in the trade of palm oil with
India.
How well accepted is the Malaysian
Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification,
and is it gaining international
recognition?
The MSPO applies primarily to the
Malaysian oil palm industry. In Europe, most
of the food trade currently goes through
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
MSPO has got to work towards being as an
acceptable certification system and it may
take some time to do that. The Malaysian
Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC) is
currently working to achieve that goal.
In the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics,
MSPO was accepted by the Tokyo Olympic
Council as a mark of certified sustainable
palm oil supplies. That was a big move
forward for MSPO. But unfortunately, the
Tokyo Olympics has been postponed due to
Covid-19. — The Health