It’s been a bit of a busy month for Khor Reports. One of the several things lined up include contributing comments to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on a couple of issues that cropped up recently.
The first concerned the trade tensions between Malaysia and India, which significantly impacted palm oil trade between the two countries:
“Last year, Indians and Malaysians waged rival boycott campaigns on social media and although it is unclear how much traction these movements garnered, Khor, the economist, said it was unusual to see such discussions about the palm oil online “as it doesn't involve end consumers”. “But having tens of thousands of mentions of Malaysian palm oil online is a clear sign of issues, meaning that after that episode the level of mentions was 80 per cent higher than previously which gives us some insight into domestic angst,” Khor said.
The second was about policy suggestions for Malaysia to return to agriculture, following a RM50 billion (USD12.3 billion) food import bill in 2019.
“The good agricultural practices of Malaysian farmers should be well established, and be held in high regard, to establish a loyal domestic market,” Khor said. “Pro-farmer and food-security efforts may be needed. Imports can flood the market in an unpredictable way and that has to be considered.”
Click on the links above to read the full SCMP articles.
