Headline News on Palm Oil. March 2021
Read curated news that impacts the global palm oil industry.
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World’s Top Agriculture Traders Gear Up for Green Diesel Boom
(Bloomberg) -- The world’s biggest agricultural commodities traders are gearing up to profit from a boom in the American renewable diesel industry. As President Joe Biden presses ahead with his green agenda, Cargill Inc. is investing $475 million to boost its capacity to process soybeans, key in producing the cooking oils used in renewable diesel. Rivals Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. and Bunge Ltd. are working on making plants more efficient, and Andersons Inc. set up a desk to trade feedstocks for the green fuel. The traders are targeting the growing market as American refiners including Phillips 66, Marathon Petroleum Corp., HollyFrontier Corp. and Valero Energy Corp. jump on the green diesel bandwagon. Renewable diesel is a fuel made from biomass that has the same properties of the fossil fuel, and it’s likely to benefit from President Joe Biden’s sweeping climate agenda that signals a push away from fossil fuels. While many refiners will seek to produce it from discarded cooking oil or animal fats, they will need to turn to traditional vegetable oils made from crops like corn and soybeans to meet demand. Bloomberg |
GLOBAL - Global rainforest loss 'relentless' in 2020, but SE Asia offers hope
KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Tropical forest losses hit their third-highest level in almost two decades last year, despite improved conservation in parts of Southeast Asia, researchers said on Wednesday, warning of rising deforestation risks as nations restart pandemic-hit economies. The loss in 2020 of 4.2 million hectares (10.4 million acres) of primary forest - intact areas of old-growth trees - equalled the size of the Netherlands, according to data from Global Forest Watch (GFW) and the University of Maryland. “2020 was supposed to be this landmark year for all of these international commitments ... and actually we’re seeing things moving in the wrong direction,” said Mikaela Weisse, a project manager at the GFW forest monitoring service, run by the World Resources Institute (WRI), a Washington-based think-tank. Reuters |
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India - Food regulator bans blending of mustard oil with other edible oils
As the government has been stressing on ‘Atmanirbhar’ in oilseeds production, a consistent policy may help it achieve this and cut annual edible oil import bill of Rs 75,000 crore, industry sources said. The food standard regulator, FSSAI, has banned blending of any kind of edible oil with mustard oil from June 8. Such a ban was earlier imposed from October 1 last year, only to be revoked in less than three months. FinancialExpress |
Tanzania - Govt set aside 3.15bln for production and distribution of palm oil
Agriculture deputy minister Hussein Bashe made the statement yesterday in the national assembly when responding to a question by Kigoma North MP Assa Makanika who wanted to know the government's commitment towards investing itself in in the palm oil crop instead of leaving it to the councils to address the oil shortage in the country. IPPMedia |
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Global - New oil palm map to inform policy and landscape-level planning
IIASA researchers have used Sentinel 1 satellite imagery from the European Space Agency to produce a map of the extent and year of detection of oil palm plantations in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand that will help policymakers and other stakeholders understand trends in oil palm expansion while also providing an accurate map for landscape-level planning. EurekAlert |
India - ‘Oil palm cultivation offers income for 30 years’
Agriculture Minister S. Niranjan Reddy said that oil palm cultivation will offer stable income for three decades with not much investment. Addressing a gathering of farmers on oil palm cultivation held here on Sunday along with Finance Minister T. Harish Rao and others, Mr. Niranjan Reddy said that the Union government had accorded permission to Telangana to cultivate oil palm in 8 lakh acres in the next four years. Permission would be accorded for another 10 lakh acres if target was achieved in time, the Minister added. He said this could be cultivated in three acres. TheHindu |
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India - Palm Oil company in Siddipet soon: Harish Rao
Siddipet: Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Sunday assured to set up an Oil Palm company at Narmetta in Siddipet district to facilitate the buyback of Oil Palm crop from farmers directly in Siddipet. Addressing the aspiring Oil Palm farmers, who arrived from different parts of Siddipet district for an interactive session here in district headquarters on Sunday, the Minister said that the district was permitted to take up Oil Palm cultivation in over 50,000 acres from the coming Vanakalam crop season. Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy said Telangana, which is standing at second in oil palm cultivation in India, will get permission to cultivate the crop in an additional 10 lakh acres, if Telangana completes the current target of 8 lakhs in the next four years. Saying that India needs 21 million tonnes of cooking oils every year, he said that they were producing just 7 million tonnes of cooking oil annually and the remaining cooking oils were being imported at a whopping expenditure of Rs 75,000 crores. TelanganaToday |
Malaysia - Govt launches project to protect oil palm smallholders
PONTIAN: The government has launched a pilot project in Tanjung Piai to monitor and report oil palm fresh fruit bunch (FFB) transactions to increase transparency in the country’s palm oil industry, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Jeck Seng. The Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister said the project, developed by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, was the “first of its kind” in the industry. “The system is to help independent smallholders in keeping their maintenance and yield records consistently and accurately. “Due to the lucrative crude palm oil prices, we have been receiving many complaints about the illegal sales of FFB, which affects the income of smallholders in the B40 category. TheStarMY |
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Malaysia - MPOB: Grasp the opportunity to export red palm oil to China
-A+A KUALA LUMPUR (March 29): A golden opportunity has presented itself for Malaysian exporters as China announced the implementation of the Chinese Group Standard for Red Palm Oil on March 1, 2021, which enables buyers from the republic to import the commodity from Malaysia by quoting specifications in the standard. “We hope Malaysian exporters can grasp this golden opportunity to sell the premium and nutritious red palm oil to China, a multi-segment market with the most diversified consumers in the world,” Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) director-general Dr Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir said today. Previously, red palm oil was not allowed to enter into China due to the colour specification in the existing Chinese Standard for Palm Oil which was set at a maximum 3.0 red. Most of the red palm oil produced in Malaysia is detected at 7.0 red or above. TheEdgeMarkets |
Malaysia - MPOB: Malaysia's higher biofuel mandate rescheduled, top priority is revitalising pandemic-hit economy
KUALA LUMPUR (March 28): The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) said today that given the unprecedented economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the implementation of Malaysia's higher biofuel mandate has been rescheduled because the government's top priority is to revitalise the pandemic-impacted economy. As such, the rescheduling of the higher biofuel mandate by Malaysia should not be equated with Indonesia as the situations in both countries are uniquely different with their own sets of priorities, the MPOB said in a statement today. "Malaysia's mandate on biofuel programme implementation is clear. The B10 programme (blend of 10% palm biodiesel with 90% diesel petroleum) for the transportation sector and the B7 programme for the industrial sector were implemented in 2019. TheEdgeMarkets |
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Thailand - Pledge to forge biochemical hub
PTT Plc and Bangchak Corporation Plc have vowed to help Thailand become a regional production base for high-value biochemical products in the post-pandemic period. Thailand wants to add value to biofuels by using them as feedstocks for the biochemical industry, which requires them to produce a range of products from food and medicine to personal care products such as cosmetics. Though the country became a major biofuel producer in the region when global oil prices soared above US$90 per barrel over two decades ago, biofuel prices have been less competitive than those of refined oil since 2014. BangkokPost |
Bloomberg - Vegetable Oils are Fanning Global Food Inflation
For anyone concerned about global food inflation, all eyes are currently on an unlikely corner of the agriculture markets: vegetable oils. While price gains for meat and dairy have been grabbing attention, futures for products like soybean oil and palm oil have also seen big recent gains. Palm prices are up close to 10% this year, and soy oil soared about 30%. There are several factors driving the gains. In Brazil, the world’s biggest soy grower, adverse weather raised concerns over yields. There’s also been signs of tight inventories for both commodities. Meanwhile, demand from major importers like China is on the rise. Bloomberg |
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India - Palm Oil Purchases by India to Soar as Users Shun Pricey Rivals
Palm oil purchases by India will probably jump almost 11% this year, with a relatively faster rise in prices of competing cooking oils prompting some users to switch to the tropical oil. Imports of palm oil by the nation, where consumption of fried foods generally surges during festivals, wedding seasons and long holidays, may climb to 8 million tons in the year ending in October, according to the median of six estimates in a Bloomberg survey of traders, analysts and importers. Bloomberg |
Canada - Canola should shrug off increase in palm oil
The world’s largest producer of palm oil will harvest and ship out a record crop in 2021-22, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, that is not something Canadian canola producers should be fretting about because of low vegetable oil stocks heading into the new crop year, said MarketsFarm analyst Bruce Burnett. “We need the major oils to move up in production and exports in order to help alleviate the tight situation in global vegetable oils,” he said. TheWesternProducer |
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Indonesia - West Sulawesi targets exporting 42,500 tons palm oil in 2021
Mamuju, W Sulawesi (ANTARA) - West Sulawesi Province has outlined a target to export 42.5 thousand tons of palm oil valued at Rp535.8 billion in 2021, with China eyed as the largest export destination. In 2020, West Sulawesi had exported 24 thousand tons of palm oil worth Rp235 billion, and the figure is projected to increase to 42.6 thousand tons this year owing to high demand abroad in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief of the Agricultural Quarantine Board Ali Jamil stated here on Thursday. AntaraNews |
Eureka Alert - Palm oil production can grow without converting rainforests and peatland
Lincoln, Neb., March 25, 2021 -- Palm oil, the most important source of vegetable oil in the world, is derived from the fruit of perennial palm trees, which are farmed year-round in mostly tropical areas. The palm fruit is harvested manually every 10 days to two weeks, then transported to a mill for processing, and ultimately exported and made into a dizzying array of products from food to toiletries to biodiesel. EurekaAlert |
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US - Husker research shows palm oil production can grow while protecting ecosystems
A four-year research project led by Grassini and supported by a $4 million grant from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggests that keeping up with demand may not necessarily mean converting more valuable, fragile ecosystems into agricultural land. According to research published March 25 in Nature Sustainability, palm oil yields on existing farms and plantations could be greatly increased with improved management practices. Researchers from the Indonesian Oil Palm Research Institute, the Indonesian Agency for Agriculture Research and Development, and Wageningen University in the Netherlands were also part of the project. NebraskaToday |
US - A New Look at America’s Most Maligned Cooking Oil
Why Does Palm Oil Get A Bad Rap? When products in the grocery store start sporting labels that proudly proclaim the absence of a certain ingredient, you can be pretty sure that in the public’s mind—rightly or wrongly—that particular ingredient is a very bad thing. (Witness all the products that claim “no trans fats” or “no cholesterol.”) The fact that there are food labels proudly proclaiming “absolutely no palm oil” is a clear demonstration that palm oil has officially attained the status of “demonized food”—one that you should surely stay away from. But is that true? WholeFoodsMagazine |
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Malaysia - Revise HRDF levy, urge palm oil associations
THE palm oil associations are calling on the government to review the additional levy made under the expansion of the Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Bhd Act 2001, which has been made compulsory to all sectors. In a joint statement, Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) CEO Datuk Nageeb Wahab; the Malayan Agricultural Producers Association (MAPA) president Mohamad Helmy Othman Basha; and Malaysian Estate Owners’ Association (MEOA) president Peter Benjamin proposed for plantation companies to be excluded from contributing to the Human Resource Development Fund’s (HRDF) levy under the act. TheMalaysianReserve |
Malaysia - B20 biodiesel mandate in Malaysia expected to absorb one million tonnes of CPO, says industry expert
KUALA LUMPUR (March 23): The B20 biodiesel mandate in Malaysia is expected to utilise over one million tonnes of crude palm oil (CPO), said Malaysian Biodiesel Association (MBA) president UR Unnithan. The implementation of the mandate to roll out B20 — biofuel with a 20% CPO component — for the transport sector has been delayed to December 2021 in Peninsular Malaysia. It has already been implemented in Sarawak since September 2020 and is scheduled to be rolled out in Sabah in June 2021. TheEdgeMarkets |
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Global - US$53 billion at risk from deforestation, yet only 1% of companies taking ‘best practice’ action
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Consumer Goods Forum - ‘A major victory in the fight against forced labour’: Food sector giants back human rights due diligence framework
The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), representing some of the world’s largest food makers and retailers, has launched a new framework for the implementation of human rights due diligence systems. This aligned approach is a ‘major victory’ in the fight against forced labour, FoodNavigator hears. FoodNavigator |
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Malaysia/ India - Exclusive | Palm oil in return for rail line construction: India, Malaysia mull barter deal
Under the proposal, India would build a $1-billion railway project in the western side of Kuala Lumpur. India is seeing whether Malaysia can pay 70% of the cost in palm oil. This is not the first such deal between the two nations. State-owned rail construction company Ircon International is in talks with Malaysia to execute a $1-billion railway project. What makes this unique is the barter deal, which may see Malaysia exporting palm oil to India in return. “We are looking at this project in Malaysia and checking whether they can pay 70 per cent of the project cost in the form of palm oil,” SK Chaudhary, chairman and managing director of Ircon, told Moneycontrol. MoneyControl |
Global Deforestation - Just 1% of businesses are taking strong action on deforestation: study
An analysis of the anti-deforestation work of 553 of the world’s largest businesses has found that just 1% are taking ‘best practice’ action. This is despite the multi-billion-dollar risks associated with inaction, EURACTIV’s media partner edie.net reports. Conducted by CDP, the analysis covers the corporates currently disclosing information on forestry through its environmental disclosure platform. Those disclosing operate in the timber products, palm oil, soy, cattle products, rubber, cocoa and/ or coffee sectors. While 93% of the 553 firms are taking at least one of the 15 industry-accepted measure to protect forests, one action is where it stopped for most businesses. Just 1% of the firms analysed were taking all, or almost all, actions relevant to their operations and supply chains. EURACTIV |
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BlackRock to no longer accept idleness on deforestation
BlackRock has called on companies to tackle deforestation along with biodiversity loss, ocean conservation, and pollution in its guidelines on investment stewardship. The world’s largest asset manager said it would be prepared to support relevant shareholder proposals or vote against the re-election of company directors that fail to disclose or effectively manage risks to ‘natural capital’. In October 2020, BlackRock supported a shareholder resolution that called on Proctor & Gamble to report on the deforestation resulting from its palm oil production. Likewise, the company’s high-profile chairman and CEO, Larry Fink, has often spoken in favour of pushing the sustainable investment agenda and even wrote letters to other CEOs in support of ESG issues. In its recent BlackRock Investment Stewardship (BIS) briefing, the company said agricultural and resource extraction activities were among the key drivers of deforestation. ETFStream |
Liberia - Golden Veroleum Liberia Points out Inaccuracies in Media Reports
Monrovia – GVL maintains that reports published by the Independent Probe newspaper in its March 7, 2021 edition titled: “Golden Veroleum In Hot water Over ‘Land-grab & Rainforest Bulldozed, Int’l panel Finding Reveals” does not provide a complete and accurate account of the findings of a recent High Carbon Stock Approach (HCSA) investigation. GVL has published its acknowledgement and initial response to the HCSA findings on February 17, 2021: https://goldenveroleumliberia.com/gvl-acknowledges-hcsa-decision-reaffirms-commitment-to-sustainable-operations/ In summary, GVL acknowledged the High Carbon Stock (HCS) forest clearance when the matter was first raised in 2018 and there was no attempt to hide or deny the clearance, even while efforts were made to validate the claims, the extent and causes with the assistance of a third party, the Earthworm Foundation (EF). Contrary to reports that over 1000 ha of HCS forests were cleared, a detailed ground assessment found the actual number to be 165 ha in the area of interest. GVL would like to point out that the HCSA report itself qualified its initial findings and recommended that ground assessments be performed to verify the actual clearance. FrontPageAfrica |
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Indonesia (Opinion) - A Forest First Nation
On Sunday, we celebrated International Forest Day. Since the last International Forest Day, the world has been focused on COVID-19 and the economic recovery. But for countries like Indonesia, home to the largest forest areas in Asia, the pandemic, the economy and the country’s forests seem inseparable. Forests cannot be detached from the livelihoods of Indonesian people. Forests have long supported the welfare of communities and, above all, they form the backbone of the country’s vast natural beauty and biodiversity. Over the past 12 months, there have been some significant developments around Indonesia’s forests. First, Indonesia carved out a piece of history by posting its lowest deforestation rate on record. Deforestation over the past year has dropped by nearly two thirds from the previous year, falling to around 115,000 hectares. For the sake of comparison, estimates of deforestation in Brazil for the same year are around 10 times that figure. JakartaPost |
Malaysia - No respite for palm oil players despite high CPO price
CRUDE palm oil (CPO) futures may have reached their highest level in 13 years of RM4,122 per tonne last Wednesday, but for Malaysian palm oil players, there is not much to rejoice about as the industry finds itself in a predicament. Last Monday, 12 associations representing stakeholders of the Malaysian palm oil supply chain issued a joint statement to appeal to the government for resolutions on the three issues of severe labour shortages, current high taxes imposed on growers, and problems with market access. A stakeholder of the group explains that the “current trend of unabated cost increases and regulatory impediments amid an outdated taxation structure of the Malaysian oil palm industry” has weighed heavily on players and threatens the competitiveness and sustainability of the industry. TheEdgeMarkets |
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Pakistan’s trade: entering into new era
The boost in exports achieved in the latter half of previous calendar year, 2020, is subsiding. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), exports stood at $2.07 billion in February 2021. Although exports had surpassed the $2 billion mark, the figure was 3.63% lower than that reported in January 2021 and 3.23% lower than that reported in February 2020. Exports had peaked at $2.37 billion in December 2020. Given the current domestic capacity constraints, the recovery in competing markets and demand patterns in major product categories in Pakistan, exports are likely to oscillate around the psychological threshold of $2 billion. TribunePK |
India asks Nepal to check authenticity of certificate of origin of soybean oil
Nepal produces little soybean oil, but it is the country’s largest export with shipments worth billions annually. With Nepal’s soybean oil exports starting to reach sky-high levels despite near zero domestic production, the Indian government has officially asked the Nepal government to check the authenticity of the certificate of origin issued to local exporters. Soybean oil became Nepal's largest export in less than a year, knocking palm oil from the number-one spot, as traders switched products to continue exploiting trade preferential loopholes after the Indian government squeezed palm oil imports. KathmanduPost |
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Liberia - Farmers Demand ‘Balance’ Payment In Land Deal with Equatorial Palm Oil in Grand Bassa County
JOGBAHN CLAN, Grand Bassa – October 6, 2016 was a happy day for Morris Beah and other townspeople of Gmenee, Wesseh Village, Paye Town, Morb Town and Kampala, which roughly translates “transit” in the Bassa language. They gathered in an old palm oil mill at Equatorial Palm Oil (EPO) to receive compensation for their crops. The predominant rubber farmers accepted the money from the Malaysian company to expand its plantation on their land in the District No. 4. Beah had been negotiating with the company for the payments for three years. In all, EPO paid the local farmers US$244,597 for their crops. Beah, 51, received US$26,964 for his rubber, palm and cassava. But more than four years after, the five communities allege they were cheated in the deal. They say the company still owes them, and they demand retroactive payment. FrontPageAfrica |
Global - Facing public pressure, palm oil firms are going green: study
LONDON (Reuters) - Of the seven commodities sectors driving deforestation, palm oil companies are doing the most to alleviate their environmental impact following years of public pressure, a study by a global environmental disclosure group shows. The CDP study, which will be released on Monday but was given to Reuters in advance, is likely to ramp up pressure on commodity companies to go green given the progress in palm oil, which is widely blamed by environmentalists for much of the destruction of tropical rainforests. Based on responses from more than 550 leading companies in the agri-commodities sector, the study found nearly all who use or produce palm oil are taking at least one industry accepted measure to address deforestation, such as having sufficiently ambitious traceability targets. Reuters |
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CPOPC (Blog) - National Certification Schemes To Ensure Sustainability of Consumer Goods
● European MEPs have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a new law to hold corporations responsible for the integrity of their operations. ● The abject failure of the New York Declaration on Forests has shown that voluntary pledges and commitments do not work. ● Will an EU regulation on forests and human rights do better? As quoted in The Guardian, “Lara Wolters, the Dutch MEP who acted as rapporteur, said: “This new law on corporate due diligence will set the standard for responsible business conduct in Europe and beyond. We refuse to accept that deforestation or forced labor is part of the global supply chains. Companies will have to avoid, and address, harm done to people and planet in their supply chains.” CPOPC |
India expresses concerns over growing export of soybean oil from Nepal to India
KATHMANDU, March 21: India has expressed concern over growing export of soybean oil from Nepal to India even as Nepal has extremely low production of its raw materials. Sending a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Indian government has sought an authentication on the product from Nepali authority on the Operational Certification Procedure for rules of origin under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), said the ministry officials. The move of the Indian authority comes amid its decision earlier to impose a ban on the import of palm oil from Nepal. Nepal has been facing a number of non-tariff measures from the Indian government on the Nepali products when their export to India starts seeing a surge. MyRepublica |
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Ghana - Government set to license oil palm business in Ghana
Twifo Hemang(C/R), March 20, GNA - Regulating the cultivation, pricing and quality of palm oil was a crucial intervention to ensure the sustainability of the oil palm sector in Ghana. Hence, the Oil Palm Development Association of Ghana (OPDAG) under the auspices of Tree Crop Development Authority (TCDA) is set to regulate the oil Palm sector to help transform and boost the economy through trading. The effort is expected to enhance market access for workers in the palm oil value chain in producing districts, would also ensure that finished products meet both local and international market standards. Mr Paul Amaning, the National Organizer of OPDAG, announced this during a national tour with farmers and oil Palm millers in the Central Region to deliberate on ways to safeguard the oil Palm plantation industry in the country to attract international markets. GhanaNewsAgency |
Ghana - Oil palm has huge economic potentials for Ghana – Research
A research conducted by the University of Ghana Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), has indicated that Oil Palm has a huge economic potential that can significantly alleviate rural poverty. According to the research, the Oil Palm sector does not only provide livelihoods to farmers but also many others along the value chain which include, operators, transporters, seed distributors, and agro-inputs sellers. The sector also employs between 1,000 and 3,000 contractors predominantly during harvesting. This came to light during an Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) Project, a dissemination workshop organized by the University of Ghana Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER). GhanaBusinessNews |
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Malaysia - Govt committed to legal action against EU over palm oil
KUALA LUMPUR (March 19): The government is committed to legal action against the European Union (EU) over the EU’s anti-palm oil stance to protect the interests of Malaysia's palm oil industry, including the smallholders. Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali said the commitment will continue to be a priority for the ministry. On March 17, 2021, a consultancy session was held virtually between the EU on the legal action against the union pertaining to issues related to discrimination against the palm oil industry. TheEdgeMarkets |
Nigeria - Obaseki advocates harnessing nation’s agricultural potentials for sustainable growth, development
The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has charged governments at all levels to prioritise agriculture and adequately harness the untapped potentials of the sector to fast-track economic growth and development. Obaseki stated this when he received the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Hon. Mustapha Baba Shehuri, who was on a courtesy visit to the Government House, Benin City. The governor noted: “We want to thank your Ministry for the collaboration that we have enjoyed. You know that Edo is very uniquely positioned as you have said, especially in the area of tree crops. NigerianObserver |
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Malaysia seeks joint body to bolster ties with Saudi Arabia
RIYADH: Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein on Tuesday expressed his country’s desire to establish a Saudi-Malaysian coordination council to achieve a higher level of understanding and boost the relationship with the Kingdom. Malaysia is keen to boost its ties with Saudi Arabia in all sectors particularly in the field of technology, said Hussein. In an interview with SPA on Tuesday, he said Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s visit to the Kingdom reflects the depth and strength of the bilateral ties. The foreign minister said the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the world. The health crisis has increased the need for more coordination between countries in all sectors, he said. ArabNews |
US - U.S. green energy push sets global edible oils alight, raises food inflation fears
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden’s green fuel push using edible oils is helping drive up vegetable oil prices that are already near record highs, hitting key cost-sensitive consumers in India and Africa and stoking global food inflation fears. The United Nations’ vegetable oils price index has rallied 70% since last June to nine-year highs after labour shortages at Asian palm plantations and bad weather in key sunflower, rapeseed and soybean hubs pinched edible oil output and cut inventories to 10-year lows. The run-up in edible oil prices has helped fuel a rise in the UN’s broader food price index to its highest since 2014, stinging consumers in developing countries and posing a challenge to policymakers trying to spur economic growth. Reuters |
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India - Loan waiver for farmers will continue: Harish Rao
Hyderabad: Stating that all promises will be delivered, finance minister T Harish Rao announced that farm loan waivers for the farmers will continue in the coming year. The finance minister said that India is importing palm oil worth Rs 70,000 crore per year. "If there is domestic production, there will be a huge savings in foreign exchange. Oil palm not only has good demand in the international market but its cultivation also results in the improve of the environment. The state government has formulated a comprehensive plan to provide farmers with all the facilities for the cultivation of oil palm. Cultivation of oil palm assures good returns to farmers in Telangana." TimesofIndia |
Liberia - Senator Sherman Questions Mano Palm Legality to Operate
Grand Cape Mount County Senator, Cllr. H. Varney G. Sherman, has informed the Liberian Senate that the Mano Palm Oil Plantation, Inc. which took over the Sime Darby Oil Palm concession in his county, may be operating outside concession of guidelines. “It is my information that whatever was entered into between the Government of Liberia, Sime Darby and Mano Palm, which was intended to effectuate the transfer of the Concession agreement from Sime Darby to Mano Palm was never submitted to the Legislature for ratification as the original concession agreement was. If this information is true, it is my considered opinion that this failure or dereliction affects the legality and the binding effect of the transfer and exhibits a total disregard for the Legislature in the Concession transfer process,” Senator Sherman pointed out in a three-page communication to the Senate. LiberianObserver |
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Ghana - Solidaridad graduates first batch of learners in Oil Palm programme at Bunso
A total of 101 learners who underwent ten weeks of competency-based training in oil palm under the Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education Training (ATVET) initiative of the Government of Ghana have graduated. The program was under the auspices of international civil society organization, Solidaridad and held at the University College of Agriculture and Environmental Studies (UCAES), at Bunso in the Eastern region of Ghana. The training seeks to build the skills of the youth for employment and entrepreneurship in the oil palm sector. MyJoyOnline |
Ghana - Oil palm farmers advocate a Board for sector
Oil Palm farmers and processers in the Western Region have called on the government to institute an oil palm Board to address the needs of the sector. The Board, they noted, would help to address the many challenges in the sector and maximize the huge potentials in the oil palm value chain. The farmers made the call during the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) Project dissemination workshop organized by the University of Ghana Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER). Stakeholders, including researchers, Regional and District Directors of Agriculture, Opinion leaders, Agricultural organizations, farmers and farmer association in the Western Region attended the workshop. NewsGhana |
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Germany - Biodiesel sales hit record high
The incorporation of biofuels in diesel fuel blends reached its highest level in the past year at about 3.025 million tonnes since the quota regime was introduced in 2007. The Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen (UFOP) saw this as confirmation that the greenhouse gas reduction target, which was raised from 4 to 6% for 2020, would be easily met. The adequate availability of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) played an important role in this, according to the organisation. The diesel fuel standard DIN EN 590 limits the incorporation rate of fatty acid methyl ester (biodiesel) to a maximum of 7% by volume. According to the standard, HVO can be blended at up to 26%. UFOP has estimated the share of biodiesel in fulfilling the quota requirements at approximately 2.46 million tonnes and that of HVO at approximately 0.56 million tonnes. BiofuelsNews |
Bolivia Approves Biodiesel Production
The Government of Bolivia recently approved the production of biodiesel in 2019 and on March 3, 2021, announced plans to construct a biodiesel production facility. This long-awaited measure will open a new market for Bolivia’s soybean producers. Bolivia's diesel imports have increased almost five-fold since 2005, from $305 million to $1.4 billion in 2019. According to media sources, the government seeks to reduce the outflow of foreign exchange for fuel purchases; Bolivia spent $12 billion on diesel and gasoline imports from 2006 and 2020. As part of the announcement, President Luis Arce declared the plan would, “achieve energy sovereignty and boost the economy.” For many years, former President Morales’ government strongly opposed biofuels production based on the food versus fuels argument. At the end of his administration in 2018, Morales approved production of ethanol from sugarcane. USDA-GAIN |
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India - Agriculture and Allied sectors in Telangana get Rs 25,000 crore
The State government is all set to give an impetus to the Agriculture sector with emphasis on modern cultivation methods, farm mechanisation and market-driven production. Hyderabad: Agriculture has emerged as the only sector to have withstood the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in the State, achieving significant progress. Reflecting the vision of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, the State government has set aside over Rs 25,000 crore for the Agriculture sector including Rs 5,225 crore towards crop loan waiver in the State budget for 2021-22. The State government is all set to give an impetus to the Agriculture sector with emphasis on modern cultivation methods, farm mechanisation and market-driven production. TelanganaToday |
Liberia - A brand of health and beauty products made from oil palm grown by small-scale farmers
Palm oil, processed from the fruit of the oil palm tree, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The fact that this vegetable oil is an ingredient in so many different products in the world, has unfortunately led to the mismanagement of natural resources to establish more plantations for commercial production. “Usually when people in Europe or America think of palm oil, it is synonymous with deforestation and the destruction of animal habitats, or land grabbing. And yes, that is all factual. It is something many large multinational companies are guilty of and are now trying to change. However, this popular narrative does not take into account the realities of smallholder farmers in West Africa,” says Mahmud Johnson of J-Palm Liberia. HowWeMadeItInAfrica |
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Liberia - Solidaridad Sets to Turn over Newly Constructed Palm Mill to Local Farmers in Grand Bassa County
Monrovia – Scores of farmers in Compound Two, Grand Bassa County are poised to benefit from Solidaridad’s efficient mill initiative introduced in Liberia to boost palm oil extraction. The installation of the mills is part of efforts to increase the production capacities of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), who are contributing 50% of the activity cost, as partners in the implementation of the Sustainable West Africa Palm Oil Programme (SWAPP), funded by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Ghana. FrontPageAfrica |
Singapore palm oil giant dispels “myths” and pushes health credentials
17 Mar 2021 --- Singaporean palm oil company, Golden Agri-Resources (GAR), which is among the world’s largest palm oil-based agribusinesses, has stepped up efforts to “dispel misperceptions” while raising awareness about the health benefits of palm oil. These moves come amid the increase in consumer concerns about food safety and nutrition amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “One persistent myth about palm oil is that it is unhealthy because it contains saturated fatty acids (SAFA),” says Dr. Paul Wassell, head of R&D at GAR. FoodIngredientsFirst |
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Malaysia - Malaysia becoming net UCO importer
Malaysia is turning into a net importer of used cooking oil (UCO) rather than net exporter, on supply reductions and rising domestic demand. January exports increased by 34pc year-on-year to 30,000t but remained dwarfed by 37,000t of imports that rose by 4pc from a year earlier, according to customs data from Global Trade Tracker. Singapore took more than half of Malaysia's exports with 16,000t followed by the Netherlands with 8,000t and Italy with 3,500t. Indonesia and China were the main points of origin providing 14,000t and 8,000t, respectively. ArgusMedia |
Korea - Posco International to issue ESG bonds worth W80b
Posco International will sell green bonds worth 80 billion won ($70 million) to finance its efforts on the environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) fronts, the company said Sunday. The ESG bond issue is part of the firm’s plan to raise 150 billion won in the debt market. The rest, 70 billion won, is to be raised through regular bond offerings. The ESG bond is a type of sustainability debt offering aimed to finance corporate activities in environmental, social responsibility and governance improvement, Posco said. TheKoreaHerald |
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Malaysia Gets Saudi Pledge to Boost Palm Oil Imports, Plans Hub
Saudi Arabia has pledged to increase Malaysian palm oil imports to as much as 1.5 billion ringgit ($364 million) in value this year from 900 million ringgit in 2020, according to Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali. The kingdom has shown commitment to boost imports of the edible oil from 318,000 tons in 2020 to 500,000 tons this year, the Malaysian minister said in a statement on Saturday. The move follows recent negotiations between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia to bolster trade and investments. Malaysia plans to open a regional agri-commodity office in Jeddah that will be used...Bloomberg |
Ukraine/ Malaysia - Ukraine Malaysia Trade Growing Despite Pandemic
Bilateral trade between Malaysia and Ukraine increased by 6.4% in the first 11 months of 2020 and amounted to $310 million, despite the coronavirus pandemic, Ambassador of Malaysia to Ukraine Raja Reza Raja Zaib Shah has said in an exclusive interview with Ukrinform. "Despite COVID-19, Malaysia-Ukraine bilateral trade in 2020 (January to November) was even better than in 2019 (an increase of 6.4%). For example, from January to November 2020, our total bilateral trade was $310 million. I think COVID-19 does not affect our trade and business. So this is good news," he said. Ukrinform |
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Nigeria - Governor Ayade Urges FAO To Extend Agric Value Chain Beyond Cocoa, Palm Oil
Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has called on the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations to come to the aid of the state in terms of financial support and provision of technical advisors for the state’s agricultural value chain. Governor Ayade who made the plea at the State Executive Council Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Calabar, while playing host to FAO’s representative in Nigeria, Mr Fred Kateero, said that his administration’s agricultural value chain policy had resulted in the establishment of various agro-based industries in the various local governments of the state, where the raw materials for such industries abound. According to Ayade, his administration, had, for instance, taken the advantage of the abundance of groundnut in the Bekwarra Local Government Area of the state to set up a groundnut vegetable oil processing plant there. TribuneOnlineNG |
Nigeria (Paid Content) - Mining the new oil well of 21st century Agriculture
Raedial Farms Limited strikes gold in the relatively untapped oil wealth of palm oil farming, backed by over N5B in investor funding. Raedial Corporation, the parent company of subsidiaries: Raedial Farms Limited, Raedial Foods Limited, Conceptive services Limited, Magnificent Multiservice Limited, and Raedial Energy Services Limited, is through Raedial Farms, spearheading major advancements in the overly untapped Palm oil sector in the agricultural industry in Nigeria. It is a well-known fact that palm oil is used in the production of more than half of the products sold in supermarkets globally. But of strategic importance is Raedial Farms Limited’s role in supporting the growth of the deeply fragmented palm oil industry in Nigeria, which is dominated mostly by small scale farm holders. This dominance by small scale farm holders in the palm oil market has resulted in low output compared to the country’s production potential. NairaMetrics |
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FINANCE - Disclosure on climate, forest risks needs to improve
While banks have started to integrate environmental concerns into their structures and processes, there is significant progress to be made on long-term climate strategy and the financing of forest risk commodities (FRCs), according to a recent report. The report by global environmental non-profit organization CDP is derived from the organization’s Financial Services Climate Change and Forests Pilot Questionnaire, the first disclosure framework for banks to report on climate and forest-related lending. It confirms that the banks' loan books have a vastly larger impact on the environment than their operations, with portfolio emissions potentially some 400 times higher than direct emissions. Although the participating banks can describe their environmental risks well, their responses suggest they are currently more focused on one side of the double-materiality approach. TheAsset |
Canada/ EU - Sustainability focus may benefit canola
Fertilizer is a sustainability risk for the crop, but carbon sequestration may be an opportunity due to no till Palm oil has a reputation problem. In 2019, 41 percent of respondents in a United Kingdom survey said palm oil was “environmentally unfriendly”. That number was much worse than other vegetable oils — only nine percent said rapeseed oil (canola) is environmentally unfriendly, five percent for sunflower and two percent for olive oil. Sustained campaigns by groups like Greenpeace likely contributed to the negative feelings about palm oil. Greenpeace and others say palm plantations are destroying forests in Malaysia and Indonesia and wiping out orangutan habitat. TheWesternProducer |
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Malaysia - Malaysia's securities panel probes Sime Darby Plantations after U.S. import ban
KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 (Reuters) - The Securities Commission of Malaysia has begun investigating palm giant Sime Darby Plantations , the company said on Thursday, following a complaint by a non-government body in the wake of a U.S. ban on imports over accusations of forced labour. Anti-trafficking group Liberty Shared accused the world's largest producer of sustainably-made palm oil of "wrongful disclosures" in its 2019 sustainability report, the firm said in a statement. "As a responsible corporate citizen listed on the Malaysian bourse, Sime Darby Plantations will cooperate fully with the Securities Commission," it added. Nasdaq |
Indonesia - Palm oil to be used in sustainable aviation fuel production
Indonesia's state energy company PT Pertamina has revealed plans to make oil products such as diesel and jet fuel out of palm oil. Indonesia, the world's biggest producer of palm oil, has a mandatory biodiesel programme with 30% palm oil content known as B30, but the government is keen to expand the use of the vegetable oil for energy. Ifki Sukarya, a senior Pertamina official, said "green diesel" uses refined, bleached and deodorised palm oil (RBDPO), which is palm oil that has been refined to remove free fatty acids and purification to remove colour and odour. The other product is the sustainable aviation fuel, which uses refined, bleached, and deodorised palm kernel Oil (RBDPKO). BiofuelsInternational |
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OPINION - Certification has failed to stop rampant deforestation—so, how to improve it?
Eco labels like Fairtrade, RSPO, FSC and Rainforest Alliance claim to make palm oil, soy, cocoa and wood products sustainable, but are not stopping climate-critical rates of deforestation, a report from Greenpeace has highlighted. How do they need to change? The eco labels that certify forest-risk commodities such as palm oil, soy, wood and cocoa have failed to stop ongoing deforestation despite their sustainability assurances, and are in need of an overhaul to halt further ecosystem degradation, according to a report from environmental campaign group, Greenpeace. In “Destruction: certified”, the report published on Wednesday (10 March), Greenpeace says that such schemes are enabling agribusinesses to operate as normal, and risk increasing the deforestation caused by farming these commodities if certification stimulates demand without addressing sustainability issues. EcoBusiness |
RSPO - RSPO says its criteria is one of the world’s strictest on deforestation
KUALA LUMPUR (March 11): The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) said its principles and criteria (P&C) are one of the world’s strictest sets of criteria on deforestation because the P&C include a total ban on deforestation and require oil palm growers to protect high conservation value areas, high carbon stock forests, besides rare, threatened or endangered species to minimise greenhouse emissions and prevent fire. In a statement yesterday, RSPO chief executive officer Beverley Postma said halting deforestation, preventing fire on oil palm concessions, and protecting peatlands and biodiversity remain some of the toughest challenges in commodity supply chains. "Over the past 10 years, the RSPO has worked continuously with our stakeholders to scale up our monitoring and enforcement efforts,” Postma said. TheEdgeMarkets |
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China - OPINION. China’s market influence can make or break green supply chains
China’s influence on many commodity markets is without parallel because of its size. As a nation it is the largest importer of soy and the second largest of palm oil. This positions it well to drive sustainability. Indeed, its influence could make or break the ambitions of other countries to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains. Yet China provides a market for a wide range of agricultural commodities with high deforestation risks. For example, between 2013 and 2017 its imports of Brazilian soy were linked to 223,000 hectares of deforestation, according to monitoring group Trase. And a recent report by Chain Reaction Research details how Chinese palm oil actors lag behind those from other nations in sustainability commitments and transparency. ChinaDialogue |
Indonesia - Govt-stakeholder partnership targets rejuvenating palm oil plantations
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government has inked a partnership agreement with stakeholders in the palm oil industry to achieve the target to rejuvenate small-scale palm oil plantations in 2021. Deputy for Food and Agribusiness Coordination at the Economic Affairs Coordinating Ministry Musdhalifah Machmud remarked that the rejuvenation of palm oil trees is targeted to boost the productivity of small-scale plantations. "It is a form of the government's support to small farmers. Rejuvenation of small plantations is also part of the national economic recovery program that can absorb several workers amid the pandemic," Musdhalifah noted in a statement here on Wednesday. Antara |
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Malaysia Looks To Improve Palm Oil Productivity And Yield Rather Than Expand Land
According to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), the country has voluntarily agreed to cut greenhouse gas emission intensity by 45 percent by 2030 relative to emission intensity gross domestic product (GDP) in 2005 as part of the commitment to the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21). Malaysia reiterated the commitment made at the Rio Summit in 1992 to retain at least 50 percent of the land under forest cover. In 2017, the area under forest cover in Malaysia is at 55.6 percent. “The country uses a circular economy in its framework for sustainable palm oil industry which means that Malaysia approaches sustainability from the input process to the output process. Likewise, to be environmental centred in improving productivity and yield, rather than expanding land for input. BusinessToday |
Malaysia - Ministry targets palm oil, palm oil products’ exports to RM75 bil
THE export value of palm oil and palm oil-based products is targeted to increase to RM75 billion this year from RM73.3 billion in 2020 due to high demand, as economies around the world gradually recover. Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali said the implementation of the country’s economic recovery initiatives, including the recently-launched National Vaccination Programme, will further enhance the industry. “We hope with the vaccination programme now underway, this industry will be stronger and more nimble to improve (export) performance. “We also hope that the country’s recovering economy will drive the growth of palm oil prices and raise other commodity sectors,” he told reporters after attending the 2021 Special Address and ‘A Year of Malaysia Prihatin’ ceremony organised by the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities here Tuesday. TheMalaysianReserve |
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Malaysia - Commodities contributed RM85.1b to GDP in 2020
KUALA LUMPUR: The commodity and commodity-based products sectors contributed RM85.1 billion to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) last year, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali said. He said of the amount, RM48.3 billion was contributed by the palm oil sector. "Knowledgeable and skilled human capital is needed to ensure that the country's commodity sector performance remains sustainable. "This factor is important so that the productivity of the commodity sector can be further enhanced to generate revenue for the country," he said at the launch of the virtual Agricommodity Career Carnival 2021 on Tuesday. TheStarMY |
Malaysia - 86.4% of Malaysia’s total licensed oil palm planted area MSPO-certified, says MPOB
KUALA LUMPUR (March 9): Up to 86.39% of Malaysia’s total planted area for oil palm has been certified sustainable under the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification scheme. During a webinar entitled “Sustainability And Food Safety: The Perspective of the Malaysian Palm Oil Industry” organised by the EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Eurocham), Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) Technical Advisory Services Unit, Product Development and Advisory Services Division (PDAS) Australasia and Oceania Regional Manager and Desk Officer for Europe, Rafizah Mazlan, said as at Feb 28, 2021, 5.07 million hectares (ha) of Malaysia’s oil palm planted area was certified sustainable. In total, the country has a total licensed planted area of 5.87 million ha. TheEdgeMarkets |
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US - US palm oil ban baffles industry watchdogs
(MENAFN - Asia Times) Pressure is mounting on US officials to provide evidence to support a ban slapped on one of the world's largest producers of sustainable palm oil (SPO) after unsubstantiated forced-labor allegations. A Withhold Release Order (WRO) was issued by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) against Malaysia's Sime Darby Plantation (SDP) last year following information supplied by anti-trafficking group Liberty Shared. However, industry experts have questioned the absence of direct evidence against Sime Darby in the petition, which offers no details of interviews with workers the non-governmental organization claims to have conducted, or dates or names or specific locations to back up the claims. Menafn |
Canada - SPREADING RUMORS ABOUT BUTTER
The recent controversies over the properties of butter and how dairy cows are fed have become a case study in media attention and the weight of evidence behind it. Anecdotal comments about the consistency of butter snowballed into sometimes overheated discussion of dairy cows’ diets. To paraphrase the Anglo-Irish author Jonathan Swift, sensationalism flies and consideration comes limping after it. Dairy Farmers of Canada announced a committee to consider issues related to palm-based feed supplements for cows, but soon after pre-emptively asked farmers to consider avoiding their use. BayObserver |
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Malaysia - Labour curbs seen costing Malaysia's oil palm industry $3b in annual revenue
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's palm oil sector stands to lose an estimated 11.83 billion ringgit ($2.89 billion) in revenue for each year that pandemic curbs restrict the supply of workers, an industry grouping said on Monday. The world's second largest palm producer relies on foreigners for 70% of its plantation workforce, but the flow of workers from nations such as Indonesia and Bangladesh has dried up since border closures in the middle of March last year. "The labour-intensive plantation sector has been registering a net outflow of foreign workers, especially over the past one year, as and when their employment contracts expire," the grouping of 12 industry bodies said in a joint statement. TheStarMY |
Malaysia - The following is a joint statement by 12 associations representing the interests of the Malaysian palm oil supply chain, reproduced in full.
The associations have read and would like to respond to the recent media reports pertaining to MPOB cess and foreign workers. The associations laud the initiative by the government to utilise the additional cess of RM2 per tonne imposed on crude palm oil (CPO) and crude palm kernel oil (CPKO), derived from the new MPOB Cess Order (Amendment) 2021, to support mechanisation and automation for the oil palm industry. The associations pray that the growers will not be further burdened with any additional new cesses. The associations are also appealing for the Government to engage with the industry to review the present taxation structure on the growers, particularly concerning the Windfall Profit Levy (WPL) and the MPOB Cess imposed nation-wide, and State sales taxes (SST) imposed in Sabah and Sarawak. TheEdgeMarkets |
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Switzerland - BREAKING NEWS.
Swiss referendum on palm oil is its free trade agreement with Indonesia has been accepted by Swiss voters. This lowers the rates for a certain amount of sustainably produced palm oil. Opponents unsuccessfully argued that this would boost palm oil production and thereby destroy more rainforest. Mccourier |
Nigeria - Solidaridad West Africa Signs MoU On Oil Palm Production With Federal Ministry
Solidaridad West Africa has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) to develop the oil palm value chain. With this, the two parties will collaborate based on mutual goals, interests, competency, expertise, and resources in the agricultural sector. The collaboration aims to improve the productivity of the agricultural sector especially oil palm production and ensure that it contributes significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. TribuneOnlineNG |
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Nigeria - Oil Palm Firm Okitipupa Oil Palm (OOP) PlcRe-strategises for Optimal Performance
The Okitipupa Oil Palm (OOP) Plc has embarked on some measures aimed at re-strategizing and putting the company on a solid footing to enable it respond effectively to emerging challenges and return it to its past leading role in the industry. The oil company has now partnered with the Nigerian Institute For Oil Palm Research (NIFOR), Benin, Edo State for a massive re-training of its personnel in line with the vision of the new management and board to restructure and re-position the company for optimal performance The company’s Managing Director, Taiwo Adewole, in a statement, said over 32 participants at the week-long seminar held at its head office in Okitipupa, were drawn from all the key sectors of the firm with the hope of equipping them with the latest skills and knowledge essential to working in a modern oil palm industry, driven by IT-based technology. ThisDayLive |
Indonesia - Awaiting Switzerland’s decision on Indonesian palm oil
On March 7, Switzerland will have a federal referendum on whether to accept or reject clauses pertaining to palm oil in the Indonesia-European Free Trade Association Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (I-EFTA CEPA), a trade agreement involving Indonesia and four non-EU countries, namely Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. According to the Swiss constitution, 50,000 signatures are required to challenge a legislative product through a referendum. The detractors of the I-EFTA CEPA have collected more than 59,000 signatures, and therefore, the referendum to annul the provisions on palm oil within the I-EFTA CEPA can be held. In a rare occasion, the name of a country other than Switzerland, i.e. Indonesia, will be written on the ballot paper. JakartaPost |
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Indonesia - Pertamina targets to commence Cilacap green refinery operations in December
Jakarta (ANTARA) - State-run oil firm PT Pertamina (Persero) has set a target to commence the production of green diesel and green aviation turbine fuel (avtur) at its green refinery by the end of 2021. "The development of green energy is an implementation of the National Strategic Projects (PSN) by maximizing the potential of abundant palm oil supply as a renewable energy resource," Corporate Secretary Subholding Refining & Petrochemical of PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional Ifki Sukarya noted in a statement here on Saturday. The green refinery located in Cilacap District of Central Java has a capacity to produce three thousand barrels of green diesel fuel per day and six thousand barrels per day of avtur. Antara |
Ghana - Solidaridad graduates 101 youth in oil palm training
A total of 101 learners, who participated in a 10-week competency-based training in oil palm at the University College of Agriculture and Environmental Studies (UCAES) at Bunso in the Eastern region, have graduated. The training, under the Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education Training (ATVET) initiative of Government, was organised by Solidaridad, an international civil society organization. It sought to build the skills of the youth for employment and entrepreneurship in the oil palm sector. The programme, described as the first of a kind in the country, is accredited by the Council for Technical and Vocational Education Training (COTVET). GhanaNewsAgency |
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Indonesia - CNA Insider videos on Indonesia's forests counterbalanced by authorities
JAKARTA (FORESTHINTS.NEWS) - In response to two videos posted recently by CNA Insider (Channel NewsAsia) concerning Indonesia’s forests and peatlands, the country’s forestry authorities have emphasized that Indonesia remains a global superpower in tackling the climate crisis as it retains huge natural tropical forest cover. In a virtual discussion (Mar 4), Rasio "Roy" Ridho Sani, Director General of Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, made a number of key points to counterbalance the content of the two videos from the Singapore-based media outlet. The videos concerned are titled “Indonesia's vanishing forests: 'Too little, too late for Asia's largest rainforests (Mar 1)" and "Deforestation in Indonesia: A waiting world catastrophe?" (Mar 3). Foresthints |
Bangladesh - National body meet fails to reach consensus on oil price issue
A meeting of the national price monitoring and fixing committee under the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) on Wednesday could not come to a consensus on a proposal of price hike of soybean oil. The meeting was held at the BTTC office in the capital. The Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners' and Vanaspati Manufactures' Association (BVORVMA) recently placed the proposal before the BTTC for a fresh hike of edible oil prices. TheFinancialExpressBD |
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Hershey unveils raft of new sustainability targets and practices
The Hershey Company has set new sustainability goals for 2030, as it aims to reduce its global emissions through investing in renewable energy, packaging innovations and sustainable land-use policies. The company has set new science-based targets to reduce its emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. Building on its 2019 commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative, Hershey has announced its goal to reduce its absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by more than 50% and its absolute Scope 3 emissions by 25% by 2030, compared to a 2018 baseline. In order to meet these commitments, Hershey is aiming for 100% of its plastic packaging to be recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2030 and has announced a no-deforestation policy. FoodBev |
Canada - COMMENTARY: There’s no evidence that butter is harder due to palm supplements in cow feed
The recent controversies over the properties of butter and how dairy cows are fed have become a case study in media attention and the weight of evidence behind it. Anecdotal comments about the consistency of butter snowballed into sometimes overheated discussions of dairy cows’ diets. To paraphrase the Anglo-Irish author Jonathan Swift, sensationalism flies and consideration comes limping after it. Dairy Farmers of Canada announced a committee to consider issues related to palm-based feed supplements for cows, but soon after pre-emptively asked farmers to consider avoiding their use. The problem started with a question about a perceived change in the hardness of butter and moved to whether a contentious product such as palm oil should be used in ingredients for cows’ feed. GlobalNews |
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Palm oil news - CSPO Watch