Malaysia has not done enough research on palm oil derived biodiesel although Malaysian palm oil companies are well-poised to take advantage it, according to economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram.

Countries such as Cuba, Brazil, the US and European countries have each enacted policies to promote biofuels such as bioethanol derived from sugar cane and biodiesel derived from soybean oil, he said. These are a part of a broader move towards using renewable energy sources.

Similar progress is not being made with palm oil, although it is the cheapest vegetable oil, and Malaysians had already heard about it as far back as 30 years ago, he said.

In addition, Malaysia is also the second largest palm oil producer in the world.