PUTRAJAYA: As global palm oil consumption increases over the decades to 50 million tonnes a year, so has the intensity of smear campaigns against the industry.
“The US$40 billion (RM177 billion) global palm oil trade makes up almost 60 per cent of the world’s vegetable oil market. But the bigger the palm oil industry, the easier it is for smear campaigns to target our planters,” Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong told NST Business in an interview, here.
“This is evident as Malaysia and Indonesia, the main global palm oil suppliers, capture more market share in vegetable oil trade, faster than rival soft oils in Europe, North America and Australia.
“I was in Germany a few months back with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. We met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and she asked whether oil palm planters were causing massive deforestation and killing orang utans.
“Rest assured, Najib and myself explained the facts on the ground. It’s clear that oil palm planters are defamed by such false and widespread allegations on the Internet and media,” he added.
More recently, Mah said the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) had falsely linked palm oil consumption to cancer.
EFSA had suggested that palm oil was more carcinogenic than other vegetable oils, and its glycidyl fatty acid esters (GE) and 3-monochloropropanediol (3-MCPD) chemical elements were genotoxic and carcinogenic.
“Those are distortion of facts. The GE and 3-MCPD chemicals are present in all vegetable oils, including olive oil, (and) are not cancerous,” said Mah.
The negative publicity over palm oil recently affected chocolate spread Nutella, which uses palm oil as one of its ingredients.
The discrimination against palm oil in Nutella may have to do with the fact that Nutella is an iconic brand in Europe.
Globally, a jar of Nutella is sold by Ferrero Group every 2.5 seconds. It is one of Italy’s biggest exports, the pride of the nation.
Ferrero Group, the world’s third-largest confectioner, operates in more than 160 countries. The group achieved a turnover of €9.5 billion (RM45.3 billion) for the 2014/2015 financial year, having achieved 13 per cent sales growth.
This is impressive as the global confectionery industry only experienced single-digit growth in the same period.
“The bigger and more successful a confectioner becomes through the usage of palm oil, the easier it is a target for unwarranted and unethical smear campaigns,” said Mah.
Bigger market share
In the last five years, Mah estimated that Malaysia earned around US$15 billion, and Indonesia US$20 billion annually, from selling around 40 million tonnes of palm oil.
He referred to Oil World, a global vegetable oil trade journal, which stated that Malaysia and Indonesia last year shipped out the bulk of 47.79 million tonnes of palm oil, or 57.6 per cent of the 82.96 million tonnes of vegetable oils traded globally.
Soyabean, rapeseed and sunflower oils only commanded 26 per cent of market share collectively.
Oil World data shows while the vegetable oil market has more than doubled since 1990, people around the world have chosen palm oil over other oils. Among 17 major vegetable oils traded in the world, palm oil consumption exceeded soyabean, rapeseed and sunflower oils.
Oil World stated that in the last 25 years, global palm oil consumption expanded three times. Rapeseed oil purchase, however, only increased by 2.5 times and soyabean oil’s popularity merely doubled.
“Among the 17 oils and fats in the world, palm oil is the most popularly consumed oil by more than six billion people across 150 countries,” said Mah.
On the home front, the oil palm industry harbours considerable political influence and significance.
Mah, who is Teluk Intan member of parliament and leader of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, said more than half of the country’s 222 constituencies were populated by small farmers cultivating oil palm and rubber trees.
“The oil palm is the national economic security crop. Bank Negara Malaysia has the oil palm tree printed on the back of the RM50 note. The first commercial cultivation of this wonderful crop was 100 years ago.
“Najib will soon launch the celebration for the centennial year of commercial oil palm cultivation in Malaysia, in honour of oil palm planters’ contribution to the economy. The palm oil industry is here to stay, from generation to generation, beyond another 100 years.”
Health benefits
On palm oil nutrition, Mah said the people should consume adequate fats for proper digestion and nutrient absorption.
“I believe palm oil provides the right amount of fat in a balanced diet. Vitamins A and E are essential for normal growth and good health,” he said.
He said scientists had briefed him that all vegetable oils contained Vitamin E, namely tocopherols and tocotrienols.
“The good thing is palm oil has the richest known content of natural tocotrienols.
“I am very encouraged to learn from clinical trials conducted in the United States and Malaysia that tocotrienols extracted from palm oil have promising medical benefits.
“Palm tocotrienols are able to lower bad cholesterol levels, kill cancer cells and protect our brain against the debilitating effects of a stroke. We must carry on with these clinical trials for the benefit of mankind.”
Last month, Mah hosted a food safety and environmental protection briefing here for 15 ambassadors from European Union (EU) countries, led by Maria Castillo Fernandez.
“I assured the ambassadors from Europe that palm oil is safe to consume and our oil palm planters engage in good agricultural practices in cultivating fruit trees.
“I also impressed upon these influential dignitaries that palm oil has contributed enormously to the socioeconomic development of rural folk. I hope the EU countries will give the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil certification greater recognition.”
In championing Malaysian exports, Mah and his delegates are now in Teheran pursuing free-trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with Iran.
The FTA will dismantle tax barriers and facilitate freer movement of goods. Iran’s 82 million population will provide a huge opportunity for Malaysia’s high-value exports, particularly cooking oil and medical devices derived from palm oil and rubber.
Iran is the second-largest country in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia. A FTA will allow Malaysia to gain a first-mover advantage there.