KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 10): Malaysia’s palm oil industry is facing a "crisis" point, weighed down by slowing growth, stagnating yields and declining profitability, SD Guthrie Bhd (KL:SDG) group managing director Mohd Haris Mohd Arshad warned during an industry event on Tuesday (Feb 10). The sector's decline is largely due to ageing plantations and growing competition from other vegetable oils such as soybean oil, whose global production rate has outpaced palm oil by sixfold in recent years. “It (the palm oil industry) is sort of stuck between a rock and a very hard place,” Mohd Haris said, as he described an industry caught between escalating domestic costs and tougher global competition. Negotiations for a similar EU-Malaysia free trade agreement (FTA) are ongoing. Panel moderator and Malaysian Palm Oil Council CEO Belvinder Sron expressed optimism that a conclusion could be reached by 2027.

Source: The Edge Markets February 10, 2026 11:48 UTC