KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Plantation and Commodities is working on a National Biomass Action Plan comprising five key sectors namely plantation, agriculture, livestock, fisheries and forestry.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the action plan was expected to be completed in July.
"My aspiration is to have a sustainable circular economy within these sectors by the systematic use and processing of biomass into high-value added products which can generate additional income for the industry as a whole," said Fadillah, who is also Plantation and Commodities Minister.
"One of the high-impact projects that will be embarked on by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board within the 12th Malaysia Plan will be the production of lignocellulose from biomass that can be utilised in various sectors such as food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries," he said at Palm Lauric Oil Conference and Exhibition 2023 (POC23) here today.
Fadhillah also pointed out that the government had been promoting Malaysian certification of palm oil to industry players
As of Jan 31 this year, the uptake of Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) stood at more than 97 per cent of oil palm planted areas and more than 98 per cent of palm oil mills in the country.
Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar said crude palm oil (CPO) prices had breached RM8,000 per tonne in March 2022 before retreating to RM3,400 level in September.
Abdul Wahid said Bursa Malaysia Derivatives' global benchmark CPO futures contract hit a record-breaking in trading volume last year with 16.2 million contracts.
This was equivalent to 405 million tonnes, or five times the global production, to surpass its performance in 2021 of 390 million tonnes.
"The Malaysian palm oil industry is expected to maintain its robust standing and demonstrate strong growth despite the on-going global economic uncertainty and recession fears in 2023.
"CPO production is expected to increase by three per cent to 19 million tonnes in 2023, up from 18.45 million tonnes recorded in 2022," he said.
Last year's 18.45 million tonnes of CPO were an increase of 1.9 per cent from 2021's figure of 18.12 million tonnes.
The total revenue of palm oil and other palm-based products stood at RM135 billion last year, up 24.4 per cent from RM108.52 billion recorded in 2021 due to higher export prices.