Pursuant to the meeting of Honble Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Datuk Zuraida Binti Kamaruddin with the IVPA delegation, at New Delhi, Wan Aishah Wan Hamid, CEO, MPOC, on behalf of Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) and Mr. Sudhakar Desai, President on behalf of Indian Vegetable oil Producers Association (IVPA), signed an MoU to further the cooperation between the two Organizations on 28th July 2022 on the sidelines of MIACES22 at Kuala Lumpur.
MOU is expected to continue to enhance and expand the co-operation in areas of mutual interest. The MoU was exchanged in the presence of the Honorable Minister Datuk Zuraida Binti Kamaruddin, in the presence of Mr. Larry Sng Wei Shien, Chairman MPOC, Mr. Mad Zaidi Mohd Karli, Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Mr. Faisal Iqbal, Director, MMD, MPOC, Dr. Bhavna Shah, Regional Head, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal & Bangladesh, Mr. N P Singh, Second Secretary (Labour), High Commission of India, Mr. Vipin Gupta, Vice-President, IVPA and Mr. Hemant Bansal, Vice-President, IVPA. MPOC, having its registered office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has collaborated with IVPA to promote and create opportunities for the greater acceptance of Malaysian Palm Oil among Indian consumers, food manufacturers and other end users. MoU is a step toward creating greater awareness of Malaysian Palm Oil benchmarked through the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification standards, whose objectives include demonstrating sustainability practices within the Malaysian palm oil industry.
IVPA, an apex body of Vegetable Oils Producers, was established as a Not-for-Profit Organization in 1977, having its registered office in New Delhi to help and foster the development and growth of the Indian Vegetable oils and Fats and allied industry. IVPA represents stakeholders from across the Edible Oil Value Chain. The vision of IVPA is to Promote Sustainability, Economic Growth and Excellence in the Edible Oils and Oilseeds Value Chain in India, and IVPA has been a Credible Voice in the Indian Oil & Oil seeds Industry. IVPA advocates and provides inputs for Policies that increase Stakeholders Value and Spur Economic Growth in the country. All the major players in the Edible Oil business, namely Adani Wilmar, Ruchi Soya Industries, Emami Agrotech Ltd, Cargill India, Bunge India, ADM Agro, Agro Tech Foods, Louis Dreyfus, Cofco Agri/ Noble Resources, Gemini Edibles & Fats, Gokul Refoils & Solvents, 3F Industries etc. are among the notable members of the Association and constitute almost 70% of the Indian Veg oil trade.
The MoU interalia covers various areas of cooperation, including:
• Educate Indian consumers on the nutritional and health benefits of palm oil. Promote Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil by enhancing trade opportunities by identifying, sharing and highlighting the latest opportunities for Certified Malaysian palm oil.
• Exchange palm oil, edible oils and fats related business, technical, policy and administrative information, data and material through its research bodies.
• MPOC will extend their cooperation to promote `Atmanirbhar Bharat by assisting the Indian Palm oil industry in sourcing technical know-how.
Jointly create an expert panel to assist the development of Indias palm oil industry by providing information and expertise on the latest technology applications and adoptions both upstream and downstream. India and Malaysia have long established historical and cultural ties, which have developed into excellent diplomatic and trade relations. Economic and commercial relations are the mainstay of the bilateral relationship. Palm oil products are the cornerstone of the trade relations between the two countries. Indian industrialists have made significant contributions to the development of the Malaysian palm oil industry, particularly in the palm oil refining sector. Groups such as Tata and Birla pioneered establishing palm oil refineries in Malaysia in the 1970s and 1980s.