Malaysia has postponed its largest annual palm oil conference due to concerns over the novel coronavirus (Covid-19).
“Due to the rising concerns of the spread of 2019-nCov, the Palm and Lauric Oils Price Outlook Conference & Exhibition 2020 (POC2020) to be held from 2-4 March 2020 will now be rescheduled to 22-24 June 2020,” organiser Bursa Malaysia Derivatives (BMD) said on its website.
“BMD has taken this decision to postpone POC2020 as the safety and health of our participants and those involved in the conference is our primary concern.”
The POC conference in Malaysia – the world’s second largest palm oil producer – has been held for the past 30 years and attracts over 2,000 industry players, Reuters wrote.
It is one of the major industry events in the oils and fats calendar.
Reuters said more than two dozen large trade fairs and industry conferences in Asia had been delayed because of the spread of 2019-nCov.
As of today, the total number of nCoV cases recorded globally stands at 40,649, with 40,197 in China, according to Worldometers. There have been 910 deaths, all but two in China. There have been reported cases in 27 countries apart from China, including 18 in Malaysia.