Malaysia’s participation in Expo 2020 is led by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation Malaysia (MOSTI) together with the Malaysian Green Technology & Climate Change Centre (MGTC) will showcase our nation’s aspiration for sustainable growth by bringing along 24 ministries, five state governments, and 47 agencies to promote multi-industries in Malaysia.

Upholding the theme ‘Energising Today – Exploring Sustainability Agricommodity’, Malaysia Pavilion will be hosting 26 weekly thematic programs promoting sustainable industries including agricommodity, which is a permanent feature in the pavilion throughout the 6-month expo.

This will be an excellent platform to discuss Malaysian palm oil sustainability efforts and to highlight the importance of Malaysian palm oil to the global community. This event aims at addressing the current perceptions of the Malaysian palm oil industry and possibly converting it to a positive message about the industry’s effort towards sustainability certification and at the same time conserving the biodiversity in Malaysia.

Sourcing for Sustainable Palm Oil through MSPO

Championing certified sustainable palm oil by having its own national certification scheme, Malaysia is offering alternative palm oil sourcing through the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification Scheme.

The MSPO scheme was made mandatory starting 1 January 2020 to ensure that the Malaysian palm oil industry complies with the domestic and international sustainability standards.

By end of 2021, a total of 5.38 million hectares or 91.65% of the 5.87 million hectares of oil palm plantations have obtained the MSPO certification. The commitment shown by the Malaysian government and its palm oil industry has earned acceptance from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as one of the sustainable palm oil sources throughout the event. This acceptance has led to more recognition and partnership from international stakeholders.

The MSPO standards have been revised in the year 2022 since it was first introduced in 2013. The revision was made to be in line with international norms, increase credibility, expand broader scopes for recognition from the global market.

The revised standards which are set to be launched in March 2022, will include improvements on matters involving social and labor good practices, High Conservation Values ​​(HCV), Social Impact Assessment (SIA), and quantification of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) through the Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC) is committed to raising the standard of the MSPO scheme at the international level and gaining consumer confidence while at the same time facilitating the Malaysian palm oil international trade and further enhance its market competitiveness in the long run.

Malaysian Palm Oil Performance in MENA Region

The plantation industry particularly palm oil is one of the main pillars of the Malaysian economy.  The palm oil sector has contributed significantly towards providing a continuous inflow of export earnings through the export of raw commodities and value-added products to the global market. In 2020, palm oil contributed US$17.39 billion in export earnings for Malaysia and accounted for 26% of the world’s palm oil production and 34% of total palm oil exports. 

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region consumes approximately 14 million MT of various oils and fats. The consumption of oils and fats in this region differs significantly with most of the growth recorded in North Africa. Palm oil, sunflower oil, and soybean oil constitute 30%, 25%, and 23% of the total oils and fat consumption in the region respectively.

Due to the non-suitable agricultural land and geographical landscape, they are heavily dependent on imports of oils and fats to supplement domestic requirements which accounted for 72% of the requirement.

The palm oil and palm oil products export from Malaysia to the Middle East was recorded at 2.4 million tonnes, valued at US$1.7 billion. UAE accounted for 10% of this, with a value of US$192 million.  The estimated export value of palm oil and palm oil products to the Middle East in 2021 is approximately US$2.5 billion. It is mostly used in the frying industry and margarine manufacturing, as well as the fat ingredients of bakery and confectionery products.