KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 (Iteenews) — The agri-commodity sector has contributed RM64.6 billion or around 5.3 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP) from January to September 2024, according to the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities (KPK).
Deputy Minister Datuk Chan Foong Hin said the sector also contributed RM152.1 billion or 12.2 per cent to the country\’s exports, an increase of 15.3 per cent compared to the same period in 2023.
\”Regarding imports, the amount stands at RM54.8 billion from January to October 2024.
\”This means that the total trade is RM206.8 billion, while the trade balance is RM97.3 billion,\” he said.
Chan said this when winding up the debate on the Supply (Budget) Bill 2025 at the policy level for the ministry at the Dewan Negara today.
Meanwhile, the deputy minister said the ministry had approved funding for the Private Smallholder Palm Oil Replanting Programme (TSPKS 2.0) under the Palm Oil Replanting Scheme amounting to RM76.16 million until Dec 5, 2024.
He said that during the same period, a total of 1,990 smallholder farms were approved, involving 1,692 smallholders with an area of 4,865.32 hectares under TSPKS 2.0.
Additionally, Chan said the ministry and the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) did not have any plans to mandate the use of certain effluent treatment technologies for palm oil mills.
However, he noted that MPOB always encourages using modern effluent treatment technologies that are environmentally friendly and cost-effective to achieve the standard limits set by the Department of Environment.
