Malaysia’s crude palm oil production to reach 18.75 million tons in 2024 – MPOB

Malaysia’s palm oil market is expected to remain positive in 2024 with strong demand from leading export destinations such as India with a 17.4% share, China (9.1%) and the European Union (7.4%), said Plantations and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Gani.

He said demand was further supported by interest in restocking to ensure food security and overall business viability.

“The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) estimates that crude palm oil (CPO) production will reach 18.75 million tons in 2024 against 18.55 million tons in 2023.

“This marginal increase (in production) of about one percent compared to 2023 will be driven by improved labor market conditions and an increase in the number of maturing oil palms,” he said in his keynote address at the 35th Palm and Laurin Oil Price Outlook Conference and Exhibition (POC2024).

He said that in order to realize positive estimates for 2024, it is critical to act quickly and address the key challenges facing the industry, namely tackling negative perceptions of palm oil, significant loss of opportunities due to inefficient smallholder farmers, climate change (El Niño) and labor issues.

Johari said despite the challenges, the palm oil industry had many opportunities and Malaysia had the potential to set the bar and become the gold standard in palm oil production for the world.

He said going forward, the industry and the more than 447,000 independent and organized smallholder farmers involved should focus on sustainable production of high quality and high yielding fresh fruit bunch (FFB) and CPO.

“Multi-stakeholder engagement is vital as it is the only way to counter unfounded accusations and negative perceptions of palm oil.

“Our Malaysian community of producers, processors, researchers and traders must come together to counter the negative perception of our industry,” he added.

Meanwhile, Johari also announced that the Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC) will be renamed the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil Certification Council (MSPO), and this should eliminate the existing confusion between the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) and MPOCC.

In 2023, the palm oil market has shown resilience despite global economic uncertainty and the industry continues to be an important part of Malaysia’s economy, contributing approximately three percent to gross domestic product growth last year.

In 2023, the palm oil market has shown resilience despite global economic uncertainty, and the industry continues to be an important part of Malaysia’s economy, contributing approximately three percent to gross domestic product growth last year.

Despite the sharp decline in CPO prices, the export value of palm oil and palm oil products exceeded RM100 billion, driven by higher volumes.

Strong demand from key consuming regions and improved production conditions contributed to the overall market performance.

Tags: prices, palm oil