KUCHING, May 19 2026: Despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, the palm oil industry continues to benefit from stronger global commodity prices and rising demand for renewable and biobased energy. Minister of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development Dr Stephen Rundie Utom told the state legislative assembly (SLA) today.
He said the increasing interest in biodiesel and sustainable vegetable oils is expected to strengthen market demand and support higher crude palm oil prices moving forward.
“Sarawak’s palm oil industry continued to record encouraging growth with export earnings reaching RM5.93 billion from January to April 2026,” he said in his winding up speech.
He said during the same period, crude palm oil (CPO) production increased by 5.3%, from 1.27 million tonnes to 1.33 million tonnes.
He said crude palm kernel oil (CPKO) production also rose significantly by 20.4%, from 112,217 tonnes to 135,137 tonnes.
Dr Rundie said estate performance also improved, with the average fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yield increasing from 4.6 tonnes per hectare to 4.7 tonnes per hectare.
“The oil extraction rate (OER) improved from 19.1% to 19.7%, while the CPKO extraction rate increased from 45.6% to 46.2%,” he said.
As of April 2026, Dr Rundie said a total of 203,000 hectares of oil palm area under independent smallholders, 57,000 hectares under organised smallholders, and 1.2 million hectares under estates have achieved MSPO (Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil) certification.
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