PUTRAJAYA: Unlike Indonesia, Malaysia will not grapple with a cooking oil supply crunch at home, if it decides to increase palm oil exports.
Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin said this was because Malaysia's domestic consumption of palm oil is relatively lower than Indonesia's.
Indonesia, on Friday, raised the maximum export levy for palm oil – from $175 per tonne to $375 per tonne – to ensure supply of the edible oil for local consumption.
The Russia-Ukraine war has exacerbated the cooking oil shortage in Indonesia, and two people died in East Kalimantan last week due to fatigue while queueing up to purchase the commodity.
However, Zuraida considered Indonesia's export levy hike a boon for Malaysia's palm oil industry.
"Since Indonesia recently doubled its export levy to cater for local demand, this opens up an opportunity for us to boost our global market share of palm oil.
"We are preparing an aggressive campaign to promote palm oil, both at home and globally.
"The revised Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) 2022 standards is proof that we are ready to counter-allegations levelled by anti-palm oil lobby groups against our palm oil industry," she told reporters, at Le Meridien Putrajaya, on Tuesday.
Earlier, Zuraida launched the revised MSPO 2022 standards, in conjunction with the Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) Forum.
MSPO is the national scheme in Malaysia for oil palm plantations, independent and organised smallholdings, and palm oil processing facilities, to be certified on the requirements of the MSPO Standards.
The first MSPO standard series (MS 2530:2013) was developed in 2013 by Standards Malaysia and was spearheaded by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB). It was made mandatory in 2020 and was revised this year into MS 2503:2022.
Among the major changes under the MSPO 2022 include a strict prohibition on the conversion of natural forest, protected areas, and high conservation value (HCV) areas, after December 2019.
In terms of labour, the new standard mandates for all forms of work in the palm oil industry to be voluntary. Industry players must also not employ or exploit children.
A new criterion also requires employers to provide decent living conditions to employees and their families has also been included.
Zuraida said, the MSPO 2022 also factored in Malaysia's global commitments, such as the inclusion of criteria to eradicate all forms of forced labour and child labour, in line with Malaysia's decision to ratify the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Protocol 29.
"In keeping with Malaysia's commitment (on retaining at least 50 per cent of Malaysia's forest cover) at COP26, we have also capped the land area for palm oil cultivation at 6.5 million hectares.
"For now, our palm oil plantations only cover 5.8 million hectares of land," she said.
Malaysia, she said, is among the first countries to develop an MSPO certification and several countries, including China, is mulling to adopt this certification.
"Within Malaysia, all products that are made from our palm oil will carry an MSPO certified label.
"Meanwhile, on the global front, we are planning to meet regulators from the United States soon to brief them about the latest developments of the Malaysian palm oil industry.
"We want to convey our perspective on the matter and put things into our local context for them.
"Next week, our officials will also fly to Pakistan and Turkey to revive our market presence, boost our palm oil market share there and keep them abreast about our industry's developments here," she said.