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Malaysia pushes further palm-oil trade with VN
A trade fair and seminar event promoting Malaysian palm oil sales to Viet Nam yesterday attracted over 200 business representatives from both countries.
"The event provides an excellent opportunity to establish networking among representatives from the oil and fat industry," said YB Dato' Seri Douglas Uggah Embas, Malaysia's Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, who spoke at the seminar.
He said Malaysia was optimistic about palm-oil sales, especially in light of Viet Nam's economic development and improved living standards.
To meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of Vietnamese consumers, the minister encouraged companies to embark on collaborative initiatives to further enhance trade relations in palm oil.
Palm oil imports from Malaysia have supplemented 54 per cent of Viet Nam's demand gap, said the minister.
The one-day event was jointly organised by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council and Malaysian Palm Oil Board.
Last year, almost 470,000 tonnes of Malaysian palm oil was exported to Viet Nam, up 11.7 per cent compared to 2011.
The figure for the first four months of this year was 147,000 tonnes, up 64 per cent from last year's corresponding period.
Malaysia is the world's second-largest exporter of palm oils.
Speaking at the event, Nguyen Thi Hong, vice chairwoman of the HCM City People's Committee, praised the two countries' trade ties, noting that this was the 40th year of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Viet Nam.
Bilateral trade increased from US$4.7 million in 2007 to $7.9 billion in 2012.
Malaysia is a major foreign investor in Viet Nam, with a total investment of $15 billion (as of the end of 2012), up from $50 million in 1990.
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