Ezzaruddin Abdul Rapar spends a lot of his time guiding guests around an “experience centre” on a giant oil palm plantation an hour’s drive west of Kuala Lumpur that is owned by Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby.
The plant’s oil-rich kernels, he might point out, can be used to make a red jam that is rich in vitamin E.
Among those he hopes to impress are Chinese consumers. Malaysian palm oil exports to China have been falling in recent years – a big concern in a country where plantations cover parts of Peninsular Malaysia from horizon to horizon.
Ezzaruddin said Chinese consumers do not always know what to do with palm oil, perhaps fearing that it is unhealthy despite the vitamin E. Or they might prefer other types of oil as rising incomes change tastes.
Palm oil is high in saturated fat, which has long been linked to higher risks of heart disease.
It is also Malaysia’s top export commodity, with 26.7 million tonnes of oil palm products shipped around the world last year.
Source link
