DUBAI, February 7, 2022 - Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk Willie Mongin said today palm oil, cocoa and pepper agri-commodities must capitalise on the World Expo platform to enhance trade and bilateral ties between Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) industry players.
He said it is also a strategic gateway to one of the most important geo-economic trends that will shape our world, with the rise of the emerging markets and development of global halal industry.
“I sincerely hope we can raise more awareness, build bridges, and share our knowledge on sustainable agri-commodities development and efforts through our specially designed Sustainable Agri-commodity exhibition and line-up of events at the Malaysia Pavilion,” he said at the launch of Sustainable Agri-Commodities (Food-based Agri-Commodities) Week at the World Expo 2020 in Dubai, UAE.
Willie said that despite the rough economic climate worldwide, Malaysia agri-commodity trade continues to perform reasonably well.
“From January to November 2021, the agri-commodity sector has contributed total export revenue of RM189.5 billion to the Malaysian economy.
“This value has exceeded Malaysia’s total export revenue for year 2020 of RM152 billion,” he said.
He hoped that Malaysia’s presence at the World Expo 2020 Dubai will help to tap the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market, as well as, explore and facilitate potential joint ventures and foreign investment from the MENA region.
He said for the palm oil industry, the concept of Sustainable Agri-commodity provides a strong platform for Malaysia to expand the global market for palm oil exports.
“As Malaysia’s main agri-commodity export, this industry has contributed significantly in providing a continuous inflow of earnings through the export of raw commodities and value-added products.
“In 2021, palm oil exports earned USD24.6 billion (RM102.3 billion) for Malaysia, with Malaysian palm oil exports in 2021 were recorded at 15.56 million tonnes, while production was at 18.14 million tonnes.
“This figure also accounted for 24% of the world’s palm oil production and 31% of the exports,” Willie said.
“As the fourth largest contributor to the Malaysian economy, the palm oil industry would be able to maintain its 2021 performance in 2022, backed by various intensified marketing and promotional efforts to be conducted by the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities and its agencies.
“Last year, Malaysian palm oil and palm oil products exported to the Middle East amounted to 2.4 million tonnes, with a value of US$1.7 billion,” he added.
He said UAE took up 10% of the total palm oil and palm oil products exported to this region, valued at US$192 million. Adding that the estimated export value of palm oil and palm oil products to the Middle East in 2021 was approximately US$2.5 billion.
On cocoa Industry, Willie said the contributed RM6.23 billion tom Malaysia’s export earnings in 2020.
“With global cocoa consumption projected to be worth US$120 billion at present (US$1=RM4.18),the ministry has drafted various initiatives to achieve the targeted export value as well as harness the industry high potential,” he said.
He said Malaysia is currently focusing on becoming a producer of single-origin and premium quality cocoa beans to meet the high demand in the market and ensure the products comply with the domestic and other international standards and regulations, including the food safety.
He added the ministry, through the Malaysian Cocoa Board (MCB), will proactively explore and increase the cocoa production for export-led growth strategy.
He said apart from doing cocoa plantation and training the local entrepreneurs to produce chocolate, the ministry will also shift its eyes on the grinding business.
“For this, the cocoa beans are imported and outsourced into the country for grindingprocess, which then will be re-exported in the form of cocoa powder.
“With the application of the latest method in crop planting, harvesting, post-harvesting and cocoa bean processing, and managing cocoa genetic materials, Malaysia could surely become one of the high-quality cocoa beans producers in the world.
“The MCB is also developing a cocoa beans traceability system to further enhance product origin assurance.
“In this regard, Malaysia has established a well-equipped analytical laboratory with ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation for chemical and microbiological analysis, supported by a team of panelists for cocoa liquor and chocolate sensory evaluation.
“Sustaining the importance of cocoa and introducing precision and smart cocoa management towards Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) is a game-changer for the development of the cocoa industry in Malaysia.
Precise and smart cocoa farm management offers the right blueprint to increase cocoa productivity and at the same time, reduces agriculture input costs involved, as proven and tested in pilot study in Malaysia,” Willie said.
He said the Malaysian pepper industry contributed RM2,434 million to the nation’s GDP in 2020 and continuously provides the main source of livelihoods for thousands of pepper farmers in Malaysia.
He said nearly 98% of the nation’s pepper production is produced in the heart of Sarawak while theother 2% of the producing areas are in Sabah and Johor.
He said Malaysia is currently the fourth largest pepper producer among International Pepper Community (IPC) member countries.
“About 70% of Malaysia’s pepper is exported as whole black pepper and the remaining as white pepper, green pepper in brine, value-added pepper and pepper products.
“Among four of the most notable achievements in the R&D for pepper include the effective use of digital solutions for identifying pest, diseases and nutritional disorders of pepper plants through the use of various mobile phone applications, the introduction of reliable and cheaper alternative pepper support poles to help farmers cope with the cost of production, the application of bio-chemical fertilisers to increase the productivity of pepper vines by 15% to 20% per hectare at the farm level and the newly established pepper genetic database to reveal the metabolism process in pepper plants that contributes to diseases resistance and affects the yield performance.
“In 2021 alone, over 21 R&D projects in bio-technology, pepper agronomy innovation and the development of value-added pepper products were initiated.
“As such, Malaysian Pepper Board (MPB) is tasked to provide the ongoing guidance and support to its smallholders, especially on the proper fertilising techniques and GAP,” he said.
He urged MPB to seriously consider expanding the Malaysian pepper commodity prospect to any of the Middle East market by leveraging on the increased demand for halal-certified products and various strategic logistics of several ports in the Middle East such as Dubai, the main port in the UAE and Bandar Abbas in Iran.
“We view that this crucial strategy will create a greater market access for our domestic halal-certified high value-added and premium pepper products produced by our own SMEs, such as the Creamy White Pepper (CWP).
“Malaysia’s pepper is of higher quality pepper in terms of pungency, flavour and aroma comparedto other peppers from other countries,” Willie said.
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