KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian downstream palm oil players who are keen to tap overseas markets have been urged to look into opportunities in Cambodia, which recently ushered in the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relationship with Malaysia.
Minister for Plantation Industries and Commodities, Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin, said Cambodia which has a population of 17 million was currently a large importer of Malaysian agriculture products, especially palm oil.
"In fact, trade volumes between the both countries have only gone up over the years.
"In 2021, Cambodia imported over seven million tonnes of palm oil compared with only over one million tonnes in the previous year," she said in a statement today.
Apart from making the country an export destination for a myriad of palm oil-related products, she said the Malaysian partner can embark on technology and know-how transfer which will ultimately assist the Cambodian agriculture and plantation sectors to achieve their full potential.
"In the case of Cambodian rubber products, Malaysia is already a reference point for the standards.
"The same can be replicated for downstream palm oil products with more Malaysian companies investing in the development of Cambodia's palm oil sector,".
Malaysia is currently Cambodia's third largest investor in the country behind China and South Korea with foreign direct investments (FDI) worth US$3.53 billion from 1994 to 2020.
Thus far, Malaysia's investments are mainly focused on the banking, telecommunications, power generation and entertainment sectors.
In 2021, bilateral trade between Cambodia and Malaysia was worth more than US$503 million, up 13.03 per cent over the previous year, according to the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia (GDCE).
"With the economy of both countries recovering well from the Covid-19 setbacks, the Malaysian palm oil is once again penetrating into new markets with international road shows to energise the palm oil market and gain momentum," said Zuraida.
With over 70 years of experience in palm oil production, Malaysia is capable of enabling Cambodia to play catch-up to its achievement within a span of five years with rapid technology and knowledge transfer.
"To complement palm oil downstream players who are interested in solidifying their overseas business presence, I wish to highlight that the Ministry has embarked on the "Global Movement to Champion the Goodness of Palm Oil" campaign to spark awareness about the high quality of Malaysian palm oil and to counter various related misinformation," she added.