Exports of palm oil, related products to hit RM100 bln in 2021 - Zuraida

BANGI: The oil palm industry is expected to contribute an export value of RM100 billion in 2021, an increase from the RM73.3 billion recorded last year, said Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin.

She said the stable oil price performance had generated significant export revenue for the country.

"Actually, the oil palm sector could be contributing up to RM120 billion in export value if not for the labour shortage due to the freeze on new foreign worker intake and lower palm output which led to a RM20 billion shortfall," she told the media after the launch of the Mechanisation and Automation Research Consortium of Oil Palm (MARCOP) here today.

Crude palm oil (CPO) price hit a record high of RM5,404 per tonne on Nov 3, 2021.

The average CPO price for January-October 2021 surged by 65 per cent to RM4,276.50 from the RM2,583.50 achieved in the corresponding period last year.

-- BERNAMA