KUCHING, July 28: Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) has taken a more aggressive stance to disprove anti-palm oil claims from the West by launching a global campaign using both conventional and online media at the Malaysia International Agricommodity Expo & Summit (MIACES) 2022.
Urging all Malaysians to stand firm in support of this effort, Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin emphasised that the campaign is to correct the notion of biased and false information about Malaysian palm oil.
“The ‘Global Movement to Champion The Goodness of Palm Oil’ or the ‘Global Movement to Champion the Benefits of Palm Oil’ is a multimedia and digital campaign targeted at a global audience, especially governments, agencies, stakeholders and media from the West who have adopted the anti-palm oil narrative with the aim of imposing import restrictions on the commodity.
“I hope that this campaign will help correct the misrepresentation and defamation about Malaysian palm oil. It is time for Malaysia to uphold the truth about the country’s major commodities,” she said when addressing the audience at MAICES 2022 held at Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) in Kuala Lumpur today, according to a statement.
The campaign will release 12 short description video clips, booklet and posters, apart from conducting intensive media engagement through print publications, TV stations, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, MPIC website and Zuraida’s “Mothering” portal.
Meanwhile, the three-day MIACES 2022 attracted more than 10,000 visitors and 350 companies from 39 countries. It was launched by Prime Minister Dato Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on June 26.
Themed “Advancing Agricommodity in A Sustainable Ecosystem”, the inaugural event focuses on the palm oil, rubber, timber, cocoa, pepper and kenaf sectors, which are amongst the main drivers of the economy, and spurring great potential to achieve this year’s target of RM300 billion in export value for Malaysia’s agricommodity sector as a whole.
Zuraida was delighted to see significant participation from newer generations of agropreneurs from various disciplines as they will be the trailblazers in transforming, modernising, and uplifting Malaysia’s agricommodity to its true potential.
“The involvement of more youths in the agricommodity sector is very encouraging. This is because the sector, which was once considered to be just the economic activity of the last generation, is now successfully attracting young skilled entrepreneurs from various socio-economic backgrounds, including urban youths.
“The rising trend signals a progressive outlook for the country’s agricommodity sector, further contributing to its vision to transform Malaysia into an international agricommodity hub, in a market valued at an estimated USD756 billion globally,” she said.
Zuraida added that MIACES 2022 which is organised by MPIC is successfully positioned as a one-stop-centre for agricommodity players to build connections, conduct greater-level transactions for their trade and more importantly, make their big break into international markets in a conducive business environment; contributing to the growth of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and drive the vision to position the agricommodity sector as one of the biggest contributors to the nation’s wealth. — DayakDaily
