OIL PALM ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IN MALAYSIA AND R&D PROGRESS IN 2020

The year 2020 faced unprecedented challenge for most of the global economic growth due to the outbreak of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Despite a downward trend performance of the Malaysian oil palm industry, particularly for the first half of 2020, the impact is less severe due to the encouraging palm oil export revenue through the National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA) which nurtures a notable increase in crude palm oil (CPO) price. In honouring the Malaysian pledge on forest conservation, land expansion for the oil palm cultivation remains stagnant over the years. The effort is now shifting towards enhancing the oil palm yield performance through new planting materials and good agricultural practices, coupled with systematic pest and disease management. Sustainability continues to be the key agenda of the oil palm industry, in moving forward to sustain the industry ecosystem. The industry is now open for innovative palm oil processes to comply with the dynamic and stringent food safety and quality standards and trade regulations. Owing to the distinction in food and feed applicability together with health prospects, translating the information into consumer-friendly language is becoming crucial for effective communication. Valorisation via the concept of 'waste to wealth' has compelled series of innovations in capitalising oil palm co-products for greener bioenergy and oleochemicals, and source of phytonutrients to generate higher earnings without having to heavily rely on palm oil trade as commodity. Mandatory enactment of the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification scheme has portrayed a success story of showing the utmost commitment towards sustainability. With persistent dedication, the oil palm industry is envisaged to be self-sustaining, amidst the never-ending challenges surrounding economy, well-being and environment.