'Non-governmental organisations are spreading malicious rumours that our oil palm plantations are killing the orang utans as a result of the clearing of forested land for oil palm conversions,' Primary Industries Minister Lim Keng Yaik said.

'Hidden behind this action is the real agenda of 'trade' competitiveness,' he told an international planters conference in Kuala Lumpur.

'Being uncompetitive, compared to products from developing countries, developed countries are erecting all forms of barriers that they can think of,' he said.

Datuk Seri Lim said the campaign over the large red-haired apes, which are native to Sabah and Sarawak, emerged after Malaysia and Indonesia tripled their exports to the European Union, from one million tonnes to 3.5 million.

Developed countries which produced oils and fat competing with palm oil had cleared their own forests and were now dictating through environmental organisations what developing countries should do, he said.

He argued that Malaysia's natural forest covered 62 per cent of the country.

If the plantation crops of rubber, oil palm and cocoa were included, the cover was 76 per cent, 'which is phenomenal by any standard'.

'This figure, when compared to the developed countries - the United States, 24.7 per cent; the United Kingdom, 11.6 per cent; the Netherlands, 11.1 per cent; and Germany, 30.7 per cent - can be likened to a comparison between David and Goliath,' he said.

'For that matter, Brazil is removing a lot of its Amazonian forest to plant soyabean. They don't attack soyabean for fear of affecting the United States, affecting their own,' Datuk Seri Lim told a press conference.

Malaysia is the world's largest palm oil producer, accounting for about half of global output.

The country produced 11.9 million tonnes last year, of which 10.8 million tonnes were exported.

The industry provides jobs to 350,000 people.

Of 11.9 million tonnes of palm oil produced last year, 10.8 million tonnes was exported to 140 countries.

Government officials are banking on palm oil and petroleum exports to make up the shortfall from the sales of electronics components abroad.

Datuk Seri Lim said Malaysia aimed to double its productivity to produce eight tonnes of palm oil per hectare within 10-15 years, up from the current average of 3.8 tonnes.

'We have to be very competitive to compete with the other oils,' he said.

'We can lower costs and boost productivity with new clones and better agronomic practices.'

Nearly 1,000 participants from 10 countries are attending the two-day conference. -- AFP