Malaysia Focuses on Sustainable Palm Oil While Respecting Indonesia’s Land Measures

26 minutes ago
2 min read

Malaysia prioritises higher palm oil yields alongside sustainable production and will not interfere with Indonesia’s measures concerning land tied to oil palm plantations.

Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani emphasised that Malaysia’s policy is not to open new oil palm plantations and instead to rely on existing areas.

“We remain committed to good planting materials, sound agricultural practices and increasing yields rather than expanding land use,” he said.

“As for (what’s done in) Indonesia, that is Indonesia’s jurisdiction, and we cannot interfere. We have to respect their laws, and any action taken against industry players is entirely within their rights,” he told a media conference on the sidelines of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) International Palm Oil Congress and Exhibition (PIPOC) 2025 here on Tuesday.

He said Malaysia is very clear on its direction and will ensure there is no further deforestation.

“All players in the industry must fulfil the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil requirements at every level of production, from upstream to midstream and downstream,” he said.

Johari was responding to a question on Indonesia’s actions and the potential impact on Malaysian companies operating there.

Indonesia has reportedly seized 9.1 million hectares of plantations through a military-backed initiative and plans to open 600,000 hectares of new land for oil palm cultivation to boost stagnant output.

Malaysia is the world’s second-largest producer of palm oil, contributing 24% of global output and 35% of global exports in 2024.

Malaysia produced 19.34 million tonnes of palm oil from about 5.6 million hectares of planted area in the country.

Meanwhile, on the topic of palm oil prices, Johari said crude palm oil has remained steady at about RM4,000 per tonne for the past 10 months.

“We are quite happy with the price level,” he added.

Source: theedgemalaysia.com