KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — Makan-Makan Malaysia, a special programme held on July 20 at Rumah Malaysia, Uccle, Brussels, Belgium, not just presented the joy in experiencing Malaysian culinary delights with Dayana Wong (Penang Makan cookbook author) but also in using palm oil in food preparation.
Malaysian ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg, who is also head of the Malaysian mission to the European Union (EU), Datuk Ahmad Rozian Abd Ghani said most of the food served were inspired by Dayana’s recipe book.
“Penang Makan” cookbook was awarded the best in the world under the street food category at the 27th Gourmand Awards in Sweden.
“We bring a bit of Penang today to this friendly country, Belgium. Some of the dishes served are fresh from the wok. We are proud to use palm oil in our food preparation,” Ahmad Rozian said in his opening remarks.
He said palm oil is the world’s most consumed and traded vegetable oil as well as an essential part of Malaysia’s economy — oil palm is the highest-yielding oil-bearing crop in the world.
“Palm oil contributed US$19.2 billion of export revenue or about 4.8 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Malaysia and is an important source of income for smallholders in the interior areas of Malaysia.
“About 40 per cent of our 5.8 million hectares of cultivated acreage is owned and operated by smallholders – some 650,000 of such small farmers are dependent upon this commodity,” he said.
In terms of trade – Malaysia’s trade with the EU has increased last year, where total trade with the EU increased by 25.8 per cent to US$43.48 billion from US$34.15 billion in 2020, and major exports are electrical and electronic products (40.4 per cent); palm oil and palm oil-based products (15.9 per cent); and rubber products (12.4 per cent).
With regard to palm oil exports, more than 90 per cent of palm oil exported to the EU market are certified sustainable.
The Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil or MSPO certification system has been mandated as the government’s commitment to ensure this sustainability track record is expanded and intensified.
