ISTANBUL

Malaysian palm oil producers are already in compliance with global standards on sustainability, the country's plantation minister said on Thursday, calling for more collaboration with Turkish producers. 

Addressing a news conference in Istanbul after meeting Turkish producers, Johari Abdul Ghani said Malaysia intensified its engagement because the world is very concerned about sustainability.

Johari Abdul Ghani, Minister of Plantation and Commodities 

Malaysia has a four-pronged approach for producing palm oil, he said. They are: protecting forests, sustainability, planning production areas, and complying with international law.

Noting that Malaysia's palm oil export to Türkiye is around 800,000 metric tons, he said Malaysia invites some of its buyers to witness the procedure first-hand.

He said Malaysia's palm oil production has been at the same level for the last 10 years, which shows that the country has not done any deforestation.

Malaysia has signed many international agreements, such as COP21 in Paris to reduce methane gas and carbon emission, he said.

Although there are no proper regulations in the world, Malaysia complies with all targets, he said.

"We also want to play our part to protect the environment. If you compare the US and Europe, our forest coverage is more than 54%. If you compare other parts of the world, they are very much lesser. Some of them are only 10%," he said.

He said that palm oil is the "most productive and efficient edible oil" because every hectare that produces palm oil gives 3.3 metric tons, whereas soybean gives 0.5 metric tons per hectare and sunflower only 0.8 metric tons per hectare.