Johari: Malaysia steps up palm oil push in India to counter 'propaganda'

NEW DELHI: Malaysia will step up efforts to promote palm oil in India and counter what Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani described as "propaganda" aimed at undermining the commodity's reputation and marketability.

Johari said Malaysia, the world's second-largest palm oil exporter after Indonesia, will continue strengthening its presence in the Indian market by leveraging its integrated upstream and downstream industries.

He said Malaysia remained the world's second-largest palm oil exporter after Indonesia, with its production supported by an established upstream plantation sector and a sizeable downstream industry producing higher-value palm-based products.

"Malaysia is still the second-largest exporter of palm oil. The first is Indonesia. All the palm oil that we produce can easily be exported, either through our downstream activities or upstream," he told the New Straits Times on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on Sept 13.

Johari said Malaysia and Indonesia remained the two dominant players in the global palm oil industry, giving both countries a strong interest in defending the commodity's position in international markets.

He said Malaysia would therefore continue promoting palm oil in major markets such as India while countering what he described as negative campaigns against the industry.

"We will continue to promote palm oil and fight all this propaganda that people are trying to push against palm oil," he said.

The criticism is significant for Malaysia because palm oil has increasingly become the subject of international campaigns over deforestation, biodiversity, carbon emissions and labour practices.

Malaysia has rejected claims that its palm oil industry should be treated as inherently unsustainable, pointing instead to its national sustainability certification and traceability requirements.

The Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) framework has been strengthened to cover traceability, deforestation, environmental requirements and labour practices, while the industry has also been working to demonstrate compliance with international sustainability requirements.

Malaysia's position has come into sharper focus over the European Union's deforestation rules, which require companies placing commodities including palm oil on the EU market to demonstrate that they are not linked to deforestation.

Malaysia has argued that such measures should recognise its existing sustainability systems rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach.

The Malaysian palm oil industry has also described some anti-palm oil campaigns as creating negative perceptions that can affect the competitiveness and marketability of Malaysian palm oil.

A study published by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board found that negative perceptions linked to environmental and health concerns had become a concern for the industry's export competitiveness.

Johari said the response should not be to retreat from international markets but to strengthen Malaysia's engagement with consumers and trading partners and provide greater clarity on the industry's production and sustainability practices.

He said this was particularly important in India, where Malaysia sees significant potential to expand palm oil and other commodity exports as part of efforts to create greater two-way trade.

Palm oil was among the commodities discussed during Malaysia's engagement with India, alongside other products such as wheat and rice, as both countries look to broaden their trade relationship.

Johari said Malaysia's ability to export both crude palm oil and processed downstream products gave the country an opportunity to capture more value from its production while expanding its presence in large consumer markets.

The strategy is also aimed at ensuring that negative narratives do not translate into weaker demand for Malaysian palm oil, particularly as Malaysia seeks to diversify its export markets and strengthen trade with countries with large populations such as India.

He said Malaysia would continue making the case for palm oil internationally while ensuring the industry remained competitive and able to meet increasingly stringent sustainability requirements.

"Slowly, we can see that the negative impact we are witnessing has actually provided a source of strength," he said.