Malaysian palm oil production increased from 10.553 million tonnes in 1999 to 10.842 million tonnes in 2000, i.e. by about 2.7% (Table 1). This increase was brought about by an expansion in the mature area, as well as higher yields that boosted production, especially in Sabah and Sarawak. The rainfall was also favourable, while the oil extraction rate increased from 18.93% in March 2000 to 19.19% in March 2001. The Malaysian palm oil production in January 2001 of 1 063 034 t was higher than that of the previous month (December 2000) by 13%. For the first three months of 2001, the total palm oil production was 2 836 493 t compared to a production of 2 225 413 t in the corresponding period of the previous year – an increase of 611 080 t (27.45%). The total area planted with oil palm had increased from 3.313 million hectares in 1999 to 3.376 million hectares in 2000. Approximately 2.942 million hectares or 87% of the total oil palm planted area are mature palms. A total of 85 090 ha of additional oil palm area entered maturity in 2000. It is forecast that production of palm oil in 2001 would reach 11.2 million tonnes, an increase of 3.7% over production in the previous year.