Lulu Hypermarket to directly source products from participating Malaysian manufacturers to be advertised at selected Lulu outlets 

by NURUL SUHAIDI / Pic by TMR FILE PIX

THE Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) and Lulu International Group have entered into a partnership to promote Malaysian palm oil-based products at Lulu Hypermarkets in Dubai. 

The collaboration will run for a threemonth period from Feb 9, 2022. 

As part of the partnership, MPOC also launched its global consumer campaign, the Malaysian Palm Oil Full of Goodness campaign, at the Lulu Hypermarket at Silicon Oasis yesterday. 

MPOC CEO Wan Aishah Wan Hamid said the promotion campaign is a continuation of its activities to promote and spread awareness on Malaysia’s sustainable palm oil at Expo 2020 Dubai. 

The campaign will see Malaysian manufacturers promote palm oil products whereby Lulu Hypermarket will directly source the products from participating Malaysian manufacturers to be advertised at selected Lulu outlets. 

“We are pleased to partner with Lulu International Group, being a prominent retail chain in Asia and the Middle East, in this endeavour to promote Malaysia’s sustainable palm oil,” she said in a statement yesterday. 

Currently, MPOC is holding Malaysia’s week-long trade and business programme, Sustainable Agricommodities (Food Agricommodities) Week at the world expo from Feb 7-12, 2022, along with the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities, to highlight Malaysia’s commodities of palm oil, pepper and cocoa. 

In addition, MPOC is also showcasing two important aspects for the industry’s growth which are sustainable initiative and industry management. 

In achieving that, it includes a mandatory certification scheme, regulatory guidelines, Good Agricultural Practices and the development of cutting-edge technology by the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the industry. 

Wan Aishah added that the concept of “Sustainable Agri-commodity” further provides a strong platform for Malaysia in expanding the global market for palm oil exports. In 2021, Malaysia earned US$24.6 billion (RM102.3 billion) in palm oil exports. 

“Last year, Malaysian palm oil exports were recorded at 15.56 million tonnes, while production was at 18.14 million tonnes. 

“The sector has contributed significantly in providing a continuous inflow of earnings through the export of the raw commodity and value-added products,” she said. 

Malaysia represents 24% of the world’s palm oil production and 31% of exports. 

The country also exported palm oil and downstream products to the Middle East amounting to 2.4 million tonnes, with a value of US$1.7 billion. 

Meanwhile, United Arab Emirates took up 10% of the total palm oil and the downstream product which was exported to this region, valued at US$192 million. 

This pushed the estimated export value of palm oil and its products to the Middle East in 2021 to approximately to US$2.5 billion. 

The majority of it was used in industrial frying, margarine and vanaspati production, as well as ingredients for baking and confectionery products. 

Malaysia’s overall participation in Expo 2020 Dubai is led by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation with the Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corp as the implementing agency.