KENINGAU: Malaysia’s palm oil industry achieved a milestone with crude palm oil (CPO) production reaching 20.28 million tonnes in 2025, the highest output ever recorded.
Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) Director-General Datuk Dr Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir said the achievement reflects the sector’s recovery and sustained growth after facing multiple challenges over the past decade, including extreme El Nino weather conditions and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Advertisement
He said the national CPO production stood at about 19 million tonnes in 2015 but plummeted to around 16 million tonnes in 2016 due to extreme El Nino weather.
Production subsequently recovered before facing renewed difficulties in 2021 when the Covid-19 pandemic caused output to decline to about 18 million tonnes.
“Alhamdulillah, in 2025 we successfully broke the production record, exceeding 20 million tonnes. This is the result of cooperation from all parties,” he told reporters at the opening ceremony of the Koperasi Penanam Sawit Mampan (KPSM) Apin-Apin Bingkor Berhad’s second weighing centre, here, recently.
Despite the record production, he noted ongoing challenges facing the industry, noting that about 10 per cent of oil palm trees in Malaysia are over 25 years old, making them less productive and at risk of being abandoned if not replanted.
He urged smallholders and plantation companies to pursue more aggressive and continuous replanting programmes.
“With more aggressive and continuous replanting, we are optimistic that national CPO production has the potential to increase to between 21 and 25 million tonnes annually in the future, thereby delivering greater returns to farmers and contributing to national income,” he said.
