It will open regional palm oil office in Tehran by mid-yearKUALA LUMPUR: Post-Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) breakdown, Malaysia is pivoting towards the Middle East to sustain its export growth of palm oil. The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the setting up of a regional palm oil office in Tehran, Iran, by mid-2017 to push the commodity into a new untapped market. After Iran’s trade embargo was lifted in January last year, Malaysia has exported RM1bil worth of palm oil. “Iran is strategically located and has big potential to be a buyer of our palm oil and be a centre for the region,” he said yesterday during a press conference here. Malaysia will also set up a palm oil research centre in Mumbai, India - Malaysia’s biggest importer of the commodity, he said.

Source: The Star January 26, 2017 22:40 UTC