Malaysia

Malaysia is a world leader in the production of crude palm oil (CPO) – and in its development not only as a food product, but as an alternative energy source, too. The commodity looks set for a year of higher prices and demand in 2014-15, with Malaysia plantation companies looking to spread acreage ever further afield. The palm oil industry is...

While palm oil has come to dominate the Malaysian plantations sector in recent years, the country is also an important producer of a variety of other plantation crops. Indeed, for many years Malaysia has been one of the world’s leading rubber producers, while the country also has significant timber, cocoa, pepper, jathropa, kenaf (similar to...

Making up two National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) and responsible for around 7% of the country’s GDP, the agriculture and plantations sector continues to be a vital part of Malaysia’s economy – and a major magnet for both domestic and foreign investment. The sector is also a major employer, helping to tackle rural poverty and address urban...

Though a strong showing by Malaysia’s tourism industry in the first three months of 2014 may have been offset by an expected drop-off in arrivals from China, officials and travel bodies remain confident that any cooling in sentiment from the mainland will ease by the latter part of the year, giving the sector a lift in the final quarter. The...