Malaysia seeks trade opportunities in Egypt

The seminar provided a platform for interaction and the latest information on Malaysian palm oil. It was attended by Fakhruddin Abdul Mukti, Ambassador of Malaysia to Egypt, Yousri Tinawy, General Manager of the Chamber of Food Industries, Wan Ahmad Tarmizi, Trade Commissioner, Johari Minal, Regional Manager of MPOB and Kamal Azami, Regional Manager of MPOC.

According to the Malaysian Ambassador, palm oil revenues in Malaysia were estimated at $20 billion. Exports of Malaysian palm oil products amounted to 20.3 million tonnes in the 2010-2011period.

Egypt is considered a flourishing market for the palm oil industry, as local food production depends on palm oil.

The Ambassador said during the seminar that Egypt – one of the biggest markets for Malaysian palm oil – imported 1.6 million tonnes, while about 800,000 million tonnes were used in Egyptian industries for the production of cooking oil, vegetarian fats, soap, chocolate and crisps.

For his part, Trade Commissioner Wan Ahmad Tarmizi explained that his main task was to assist Egyptian businessmen and entrepreneurs who traded in Malaysian products and to insist on the importance of upholding validity and trust regarding the body they were dealing with in order to avoid complaints and scams.

Tarmizi was asked whether the political unrest had any impact on the Egyptian-Malaysian trade.

He replied: "I am confident that our exports already targeted the right recipients in Egypt. We were therefore happy with the revenues and keen to assist Egyptians in returning their investments."