DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), has today launched its ‘Malaysian Palm Oil Full of Goodness’ consumer campaign at the LuLu Hypermarket located at the Dubai Silicon Oasis in its effort to drive the growth of the commodity in the UAE.
Launched by Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, The Honourable Datuk Willie Anak Mongin, the event was in conjunction with the ministry’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai, currently held at the Malaysian Pavilion in Dubai South from February 6 till 12, 2022.
An MoU was earlier sealed between MPOC and the Lulu Group International (LULU) to promote and market Malaysia’s palm-oil based products through the latter’s wide chain of hypermarkets located in the UAE.
The collaboration also includes cooperation on various technological and economic advantages between both parties.
The palm oil industry has for decades remained one of the main pillars of the Malaysian economy. Malaysia is currently the world’s second-largest palm oil producer and exporter, accounting for 24 percent of global palm oil production and 31 percent of global exports.
Chief Executive Officer of MPOC, Wan Aishah Wan Hamid said, “As a major hub in the Middle East, the UAE has always been Malaysia’s largest export destination and second-largest source of import in this region and serves as a gateway for Malaysia to penetrate to new markets in the wider region”.
For year 2021, the Middle East and North Africa region imported 2.34 million tonnes of Malaysian palm oil, an increase of 8.2 per cent as compared to the same period in 2020. Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE accounted 84 per cent of the total Malaysian palm oil exports to the Middle Eastern region.
“There are also growing health concerns regarding trans-fat consumption, which have driven consumer preference towards saturated fats such as palm oil. Increasing demand for high-quality food products from tourists as well as local consumers has driven its demand” says Wan Aishah Wan Hamid. “Hence, we are hoping to share all these via the ‘Malaysian Palm Oil Full of Goodness’ consumer campaign which is currently running for a week.”