China to Buy 1.7 Million Tons of Malaysia’s Palm Oil Until 2023

China recently expressed its commitment to purchase 1.7 million tons of palm oil from Malaysia until 2023 according to the Foreign Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, reported the Bernama on October 13. The Foreign Minister announced this in a joint news conference following bilateral meetings with his visiting Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. “We also discussed the opportunities in engaging trilateral cooperation using Malaysian palm oil and palm oil-based products to address food security in third countries,” Hishammuddin said.
    
In 2017, Malaysia exported 2.87 million tons of palm oil and palm oil derivatives worth RM9.42 billion to China. Exports of palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products to China also rebounded by 17.8  per cent in 2019 after declining for seven consecutive years. According to the Malaysian Palm Oil Council, Malaysia’s palm oil exports to China increased by 438,747 metric tons or by 31.1 per cent – to 1,848,433 metric tons for the period from January through August of 2020. 

On enhancing Malaysian palm oil trade with China, Hishammuddin said both sides agreed to promote sustainability requirements for palm oil products that adhere to the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) and the Green Food label. He said Malaysia appreciated China’s agreement to encourage its enterprises to increase the import of sustainably-produced Malaysian palm oil and other products in accordance with the market rule.