.jpg "A worker collects palm oil fruit after being harvested at a plantation in Kampung Bukit Hijau, Kuala Selangor March 14, 2018. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Mukhriz Hazim")
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 — The Malaysian Palm Oil Board is in favour of any move by Indonesia and Malaysia as the world’s largest producers of palm oil, to form a body similar to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).
The move would enhance transparency and maintain crude palm oil (CPO) price at the same time, it said.
MPOB director-general Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir said the world is currently depending on Malaysia for updates on the CPO price. In this regard, the board would make the announcement on the CPO price, stocks, production and export markets every tenth of the month.
“If Indonesia can also announce their stocks level and such, we can have a more controlled price,” he told Bernama on the sidelines of the three-day MPOB International Palm Oil Congress and Exhibition (PIPOC) 2019 here today.
Both Indonesia and Malaysia contribute 87 per cent of the global supply and creating a duopoly market of the most versatile edible oil.
Ahmad Parveez noted that under the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) currently, both member countries Indonesia and Malaysia were only looking at issues pertaining to how they could work together, particularly in countering the European Union discrimination against palm oil.
“So far in terms of trade and marketing each country does so on their own,” he added.
Former Malaysian ambassador Azhari Karim wrote to New Straits Times yesterday, calling the government to consider following the footsteps of the Opec by establishing a similar organisation to comprise mainly palm oil producers, millers and consumers.
“The issue of pricing continues to plague the industry, as we depend largely on countries which have large populations such as China and India, the two largest buyers of our palm oil.
“Anything that can lead to a lower demand from these two countries, whether due to internal or other political and economic factors, will certainly affect palm oil prices,” he said, adding that the demand for palm oil would also be dependent on the performance of other vegetable oils in the world. — Bernama
