Oil palm fruit inside a palm oil factory in Sepang, Malaysia (Photo: Reuters)

Kuala Lumpur - The Malaysian government will leverage on the escalating prices of crude palm oil (CPO) to increase the country’s market share of palm oil in the global market, Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin said.

She added that consumers are showing a concern about a temporary shortfall in edible oil supplies from Ukraine.

Ukraine is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil with a market share of 47 percent of global exports, while Russia’s share in the global exports stands at 29.9 percent. These two countries accounted for 60 percent of the global sunflower oil production in the past two years.

Sunflower oil is the world’s third-most traded vegetable oil, after palm and soybean oil.

CPO price for the first time hit 1,914 USD per tonne on March 1 as consumers rushed to source the oil amid the shortage of sunflower oil caused by the Russia-Ukraine tension.

The Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry of Malaysia will continue to guarantee the future of smallholders and Malaysian palm oil industry players, the official said.

Over the last few days, meetings have been held with numerous stakeholders in the agro-commodity industry over the rising prices, she added.

Zuraida assured that there is adequate supply of government-subsidised cooking oil to meet local demands and no cause for worry.