Lang
According to a report by Eco-Business, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board will introduce an official reference price for used cooking oil in the first quarter of 2026.
The board, the statutory body responsible for regulation, research, and development in the country’s palm oil industry, said the move aims to improve market transparency, guide fair trading, and support the development of a circular palm oil economy.
Nuraini Ahmad, Malaysia’s plantation and commodities minister, was quoted in a January 20 report as saying the benchmark is expected to provide clearer price signals while protecting small market participants from price manipulation and misleading information.
New Straits Times reported on January 13 that the minister said the initiative supports Malaysia’s move toward a circular economy, where waste and byproducts are converted into valuable industrial and energy resources.
Dr. Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir, director-general of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, said the reference price is based on a local delivered price, reflecting used cooking oil sales within Malaysia and including domestic transportation costs, rather than export-based free-on-board (FOB) pricing.
In a January 13 report by The Edge Malaysia, Kadir was quoted as saying the reference price aims to make the market more transparent, giving people a benchmark when selling the used cooking oil they collect.
He said this would help ensure sellers receive a fair price and that the market becomes more organized.
He added that the goal is to ensure the activity becomes a healthy business and to encourage more people to collect and sell used cooking oil.
S&P Global Commodity Insights reported in January 2025 that used cooking oil prices in Asia had reached their highest level in two years the previous year because of strong demand in Chinese and European markets.
The initiative comes after Malaysia’s palm oil industry, the world’s second-largest after Indonesia, recorded its highest-ever crude palm oil (CPO) production in 2025.
The Edge Malaysia, citing Kadir in a January 21 report, said palm oil production reached 20.28 million tonnes in 2025 but is expected to moderate to between 19.5 million and 19.8 million tonnes this year.
Source: Oils & Fats International