By SHAHEERA AZNAM SHAH / Pic BLOOMBERG

THE introduction of the Chinese Group Standards has opened a new market for Malaysia’s red palm oil as importers from China are now able to purchase the premium oil.

China, the largest buyer of palm oil, recently approved the new standards for the premium palm oil, which was previously banned from entering the country due to colour specifications in China’s standard for palm oil, said Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) DG Dr Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir.

“Following the announcement, Chinese buyers are now able to import red palm oil from Malaysia by quoting specifications in the standard.

“Previously, red palm oil was not allowed to enter China due to the colour specification in the existing Chinese Standard for palm oil which was set at a maximum of 3.0 red.

“Most of the red palm oil produced in Malaysia is detected at 7.0 red and above,” he said in a statement yesterday.

The newly announced Chinese Group Standard allows for the importation of red palm oil without the barrier effective from March 1, 2021.

Ahmad Parveez said the Chinese Group Standard was the culmination of multiple stakeholder engagements and extensive bilateral cooperation between MPOB and its respective Chinese authorities.

“In 2014 and 2015, MPOB conducted an intervention programme with the Lanzhou University to help fight Vitamin A deficiency among 2,000 school children in Gansu Province through the use of red palm oil, which contains natural carotenes, a pro-Vitamin A and a powerful antioxidant.

“The programme effectively helped reduce Vitamin A deficiency among the children from 21.6% to 6.1% after six months of intervention and MPOB takes pride in the corporate social responsibility initiative which was jointly carried out with the

Chinese Nutrition Society,” he added. Ahmad Parveex said the agency through MPOB’s regional office in Shanghai, China, namely the Palm Oil Research and Technical Service Institute of MPOB, local industry players and research institutes, had jointly developed food and animal feed formulated with red palm oil.

“These products, including the red palm-based extruded snacks, red palm-hot pot soup stocks, red-palm dog food and red-palm feed for layer chickens, will help strengthen the Malaysian palm oil markets in China by reaching out to the Chinese producers and consumers,” Ahmad Parveez said.

Ahmad Parveez encourages Malaysian exporters to grab the opportunity to sell premium red palm oil to China, which is a multi-segment market with the most diversified consumers globally.

Besides red palm oil, China also announced the official implementation of the Chinese Group Standard for palm kernel cake.