KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 ― Malaysia, the world's second largest palm oil producer, today said it plans to leverage the global edible oil shortage and “political tension in Europe” to regain market share after buyers shunned the commodity over environmental concerns.
But retailers like British supermarket chain Iceland, which removed palm oil from its own-brand food starting in 2018, have been forced to return to the controversial commodity in recent months due to a global edible oil shortage triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war and Indonesia's ban on palm oil exports.
Zuraida said global edible oil prices are likely to remain high in the first half of 2022 and EU demand is expected to increase in the near term due to tight sunflower and soy oil supplies.