The government will be implementing a certification scheme based on Malaysian standards to brand Malaysian palm oil for sustainability and nutritional benefits.
The scheme will not only assure consumers of the quality of the Malaysian palm oil, but most importantly, raise the image of Malaysian palm oil products and strategically brand the palm oil products in international markets.
“I am optimistic with the implementation of a certification scheme and the branding initiative on Malaysian palm oil, we will be able not only to differentiate the sources of palm oil in the global markets, but also attract premium for our palm oil.
“In addition, this endeavour will also allow us to address some of the issues relating to sustainability that is being debated in the major importing markets,” said Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas in his speech at the Palm Oil Economic Review and Outlook Seminar 2014 here today.
The speech was read on his behalf by the Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk Noriah Kasnon.
Uggah said biased campaigns against palm oil by western non-governmental organisations (NGOs) might jeopardise demand potential for the commodity from the traditional and new markets.
The oil palm industry should not be discouraged by these NGOs’ tactics, instead, the sector should treat this as a challenge to double the efforts to disprove their allegations so that the world could gain benefits from consuming this vegetable oil.
“Bear in mind that despite the continuous negative perception and propaganda, palm oil remains the most widely used oil in food applications worldwide,” he said.
