Malaysia paving way for palm oil to regain market share in EU, says Zuraida

The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) will take advantage of the shortage of global edible oil amid the political tension in Europe to promote Malaysian palm oil, paving the way for the commodity to regain its market share, especially in the European Union (EU).

种植业和商品部（MPIC）将利用欧洲政治紧张局势下全球食用油短缺的机会推广马来西亚棕榈油，为该商品重新获得市场份额铺平道路，尤其是在欧盟 (EU)。

Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24th Feb this year had significantly affected the global vegetable oil supplies as the uncertainty over Black Sea exports had resulted in higher vegetable/edible oil prices.

部长Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin表示，俄罗斯于今年 2 月 24 日入侵乌克兰，严重影响了全球植物油供应，因为黑海出口的不确定性导致植物/食用油价格上涨。

“The Russian-Ukraine conflict has led to shortages of sunflower oil and rapeseed oil with both countries accounting for 80% of global exports.

“俄乌冲突导致葵花油和菜籽油短缺，两国占全球出口的 80%。

“The MPIC believes that the Black Sea tension will benefit Malaysian palm oil exports as many European countries with high dependency on sunflower oil have now shifted their demand to palm oil,” she said in a statement on 6th May.

 “MPIC 认为，黑海紧张局势将有利于马来西亚棕榈油出口，因为许多高度依赖葵花籽油的欧洲国家现在已将需求转向棕榈油，”她在5 月 6 日的一份声明中表示。

Zuraida said Ukraine and Russia are entering the critical month for sunflower planting, which should have started in April, hence the prolonged war could hamper the planting season.

Zuraida说，乌克兰和俄罗斯正进入种植向日葵的关键月份，这本应在四月开始，因此旷日持久的战争可能会阻碍种植季节。

Ukraine’s and Russia’s sunflower oil exports account for 10% of global vegetable oil exports and market analysts are presently anticipating an increase in palm oil demand from the EU region in the near term given lower quantities of soybean exports from Brazil, Paraguay, Russia and Ukraine as well as reduced sunflower exports from Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

乌克兰和俄罗斯的葵花油出口占全球植物油出口的 10%，市场分析师目前预计，由于巴西、巴拉圭、俄罗斯和乌克兰的大豆出口量减少，近期欧盟地区的棕榈油需求将增加。俄罗斯、哈萨克斯坦和乌克兰的向日葵出口减少。

Coupled with the latest move by neighbouring Indonesia, which is the world’s largest palm oil exporter, to widen the scope of its export ban on raw materials for cooking oil to include crude and refined palm oil, global vegetable oil prices are likely to remain high in the first half of 2022, the minister said.

部长说，再加上邻国印尼是全球最大的棕榈油出口国，最近将食用油原料出口禁令范围扩大至粗油和精炼棕榈油，2022 年上半年全球植物油价格有望维持高位。

“This is why I believe it is timely now for palm oil to regain its confidence from European buyers given the publicity the commodity received in the past,” she said.

她说：“这就是为什么我认为现在是时候让棕榈油重新获得欧洲买家的信心了，因为该商品过去曾受到广泛关注。”

Zuraida said she had instructed relevant agencies under the MPIC, such as the Malaysian Palm Oil Council and the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, to undertake aggressive efforts and campaigns not just for the commodity to fill the global market gaps in the interim. These agencies, in collaboration with the MPIC, will have to ensure that Malaysian palm oil remains a top choice in global markets in the long run, particularly those where consumers have been exposed to vicious propaganda in the past.

Zuraida说，她已指示 MPIC 下的相关机构，例如马来西亚棕榈油委员会和马来西亚棕榈油委员会，采取积极的努力和运动，而不仅仅是为了在此期间填补全球市场空白。这些机构必须与 MPIC 合作，确保从长远来看，马来西亚棕榈油仍然是全球市场的首选，尤其是那些消费者过去曾受到恶意宣传的市场。

She called on the agencies to step up efforts to counter adverse propaganda which undermines palm oil’s credibility and for the country to showcase the numerous health benefits the golden oil offer.

她呼吁各机构加大力度打击破坏棕榈油信誉的负面宣传，并呼吁该国展示黄金油提供的众多健康益处。