The palm oil industry has been a significant driver in the economic development of Malaysia and has established itself in the international oil and fats business. The Malaysian palm oil industry has gained strength each year to promote its growth to a new level. In 2008, the industry recorded export earnings of oil palm products to RM 65.2 billion from RM 45.1 billion in the previous year. The national average fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yield increased by 6% to 20.18 t ha-1 as against 19.03 t ha-1 achieved in 2007, while the average oil yield per hectare also posted a 6.5% year-on-year increase to 4.08 t ha-1, the highest since 1987. There was a substantial year-on-year increase of 12% in the production of Malaysian palm oil from 15.82 million tonnes in 2007 to 17.73 million tonnes in 2008 (Table 1). A bigger growth than 2007/2006, of 0.36%, suggests that palms were recovering from the low production cycle after a smaller increase in the previous year.