Palm oil. March 2023
|
|
|
March 30, 2023
Indonesia Maintains Biodiesel Target Despite Slow Start to B35
(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia said the ramp-up toward its latest biodiesel mandate has been slow, but the country will stick to its target of producing fuel using a 35% blend of palm oil this year.
The world’s top vegetable oils producer implemented the biodiesel program known as B35 in its transport sector at the start of February, raising it from B30, which required a 30% palm oil mix. A certain volume of palm oil is allocated toward meeting the mandate, curbing supplies available for export.
Despite the higher mandate, biofuel demand has been weak. Indonesia only consumed about 2.1 million kiloliters of palm-based biodiesel between January and mid-March, down from 2.5 million in the first quarter of 2022, according to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. Some industry players have said that producers need more time to meet the new target.
“There are some regions that are still selling diesel blended with 30% palm oil,” Dadan Kusdiana, director general of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation, said in an interview late Wednesday. “We are giving fuel retailers flexibility until mid-year to make adjustments to their blending facility.” Bloomberg
----------
Malaysia wants palm oil hubs in Egypt, Saudi Arabia: Deputy PM Fadillah
World's second-largest exporter eager to diversify markets amid row with EU
KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia plans to expand palm oil exports into Middle East and African markets by creating new export hubs in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof said in an interview with Nikkei Asia.
Fadillah, who is also Minister of Commodities and Plantation Industries, said his ministry and the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) are trying to push further into emerging markets, which have recently seen their re-exports of the oil rise. Malaysia is the world's second-largest exporter of palm oil after Indonesia. Its top importers include India, China and the Philippines.
"There are a few strategies that we are looking at. Firstly, exploring new markets and at the same time strengthening relations with all the countries that are close to us as far as markets are concerned," the deputy prime minister told Nikkei.
Fadillah spoke with the Egyptian ambassador to Malaysia, who said that Egypt is "keen" on being the regional hub for palm oil distribution. "They want to import more from us and they want Egypt to be the hub so they can spread it out to Africa."
"The same goes for the markets in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, for example, is also interested [in being a hub] like Qatar."
Malaysia's palm oil exports to the Middle East increased 32% last year and those to North Africa 51%. Nikkei Asia
----------
Sime Darby Plantation to restore peat land with Malaysian Palm Oil Green Conservation Foundation
Petaling Jaya, 30 March 2023 - A 50-hectare area in Bintulu, Sarawak, will be restored into a functioning rehabilitated peat ecosystem in the next two years.
Malaysian Palm Oil Green Conservation Foundation (MPOGCF) has agreed to contribute RM1.48 million to fund the project to plant and maintain suitable tree species in Sime Darby Plantation's Lavang estate. This project is expected to become a peatland rehabilitation model for academics and researchers. It will benefit the ecosystem and biodiversity of the area, as well as water and fire management systems.
Chief Sustainability Officer of Sime Darby Plantation Berhad (SDP), Rashyid Redza Anwarudin said, the latest collaboration with MPOGCF aligns with SDP’s No Deforestation, No Peat and No Exploitation (NDPE) commitment which the company has adopted since 2016, and SDP’s latest target to achieve net-zero emissions across its entire value chain by 2050.
“One of the key approaches we are taking to achieve our net-zero ambition is through land use transformation which include reforesting and rehabilitating non-productive agriculture land as a nature-based solution to increase carbon sinks. By restoring damaged peatlands, we are sequestering carbon, enhancing biodiversity, and reducing our overall environmental impact,” said Rashyid.
To achieve its net-zero target, SDP has decided to reforest a total of 400ha of peat plantations in East Malaysia. Ever since its NDPE commitment in 2016, there has been no new development of oil palm on peatland in SDP’s operations, regardless of the depth or location of the peat.
For its existing planted areas on peatland, SDP conducts drainability assessment procedures five years prior to replanting to assess the land status. If replanting is not viable, the area would be rehabilitated to its original peat ecosystem. SDP is planning to reforest more areas in its existing plantation in the near future.
“We are pleased to collaborate with MPOGCF on this impactful initiative. As with many of our tree-planting projects in the past, we are delighted to have the opportunity to work together with yet another like-minded partner who share our passion for environmental conservation,” added Rasyhid.
MPOGCF General Manager Zamakhshari Muhamad believed the signing of the MOA with SDP signified the Malaysian palm oil industry’s commitment to ensuring the rehabilitation of peatlands that can no longer be replanted into its natural ecosystem.
“Changing the status of forest reserves and peatland areas for oil palm plantations is no longer permitted, thus why existing oil palm on peatlands must be regulated more strictly. Sime Darby Plantation
Indonesia Maintains Biodiesel Target Despite Slow Start to B35
(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia said the ramp-up toward its latest biodiesel mandate has been slow, but the country will stick to its target of producing fuel using a 35% blend of palm oil this year.
The world’s top vegetable oils producer implemented the biodiesel program known as B35 in its transport sector at the start of February, raising it from B30, which required a 30% palm oil mix. A certain volume of palm oil is allocated toward meeting the mandate, curbing supplies available for export.
Despite the higher mandate, biofuel demand has been weak. Indonesia only consumed about 2.1 million kiloliters of palm-based biodiesel between January and mid-March, down from 2.5 million in the first quarter of 2022, according to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. Some industry players have said that producers need more time to meet the new target.
“There are some regions that are still selling diesel blended with 30% palm oil,” Dadan Kusdiana, director general of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation, said in an interview late Wednesday. “We are giving fuel retailers flexibility until mid-year to make adjustments to their blending facility.” Bloomberg
----------
Malaysia wants palm oil hubs in Egypt, Saudi Arabia: Deputy PM Fadillah
World's second-largest exporter eager to diversify markets amid row with EU
KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia plans to expand palm oil exports into Middle East and African markets by creating new export hubs in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof said in an interview with Nikkei Asia.
Fadillah, who is also Minister of Commodities and Plantation Industries, said his ministry and the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) are trying to push further into emerging markets, which have recently seen their re-exports of the oil rise. Malaysia is the world's second-largest exporter of palm oil after Indonesia. Its top importers include India, China and the Philippines.
"There are a few strategies that we are looking at. Firstly, exploring new markets and at the same time strengthening relations with all the countries that are close to us as far as markets are concerned," the deputy prime minister told Nikkei.
Fadillah spoke with the Egyptian ambassador to Malaysia, who said that Egypt is "keen" on being the regional hub for palm oil distribution. "They want to import more from us and they want Egypt to be the hub so they can spread it out to Africa."
"The same goes for the markets in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, for example, is also interested [in being a hub] like Qatar."
Malaysia's palm oil exports to the Middle East increased 32% last year and those to North Africa 51%. Nikkei Asia
----------
Sime Darby Plantation to restore peat land with Malaysian Palm Oil Green Conservation Foundation
Petaling Jaya, 30 March 2023 - A 50-hectare area in Bintulu, Sarawak, will be restored into a functioning rehabilitated peat ecosystem in the next two years.
Malaysian Palm Oil Green Conservation Foundation (MPOGCF) has agreed to contribute RM1.48 million to fund the project to plant and maintain suitable tree species in Sime Darby Plantation's Lavang estate. This project is expected to become a peatland rehabilitation model for academics and researchers. It will benefit the ecosystem and biodiversity of the area, as well as water and fire management systems.
Chief Sustainability Officer of Sime Darby Plantation Berhad (SDP), Rashyid Redza Anwarudin said, the latest collaboration with MPOGCF aligns with SDP’s No Deforestation, No Peat and No Exploitation (NDPE) commitment which the company has adopted since 2016, and SDP’s latest target to achieve net-zero emissions across its entire value chain by 2050.
“One of the key approaches we are taking to achieve our net-zero ambition is through land use transformation which include reforesting and rehabilitating non-productive agriculture land as a nature-based solution to increase carbon sinks. By restoring damaged peatlands, we are sequestering carbon, enhancing biodiversity, and reducing our overall environmental impact,” said Rashyid.
To achieve its net-zero target, SDP has decided to reforest a total of 400ha of peat plantations in East Malaysia. Ever since its NDPE commitment in 2016, there has been no new development of oil palm on peatland in SDP’s operations, regardless of the depth or location of the peat.
For its existing planted areas on peatland, SDP conducts drainability assessment procedures five years prior to replanting to assess the land status. If replanting is not viable, the area would be rehabilitated to its original peat ecosystem. SDP is planning to reforest more areas in its existing plantation in the near future.
“We are pleased to collaborate with MPOGCF on this impactful initiative. As with many of our tree-planting projects in the past, we are delighted to have the opportunity to work together with yet another like-minded partner who share our passion for environmental conservation,” added Rasyhid.
MPOGCF General Manager Zamakhshari Muhamad believed the signing of the MOA with SDP signified the Malaysian palm oil industry’s commitment to ensuring the rehabilitation of peatlands that can no longer be replanted into its natural ecosystem.
“Changing the status of forest reserves and peatland areas for oil palm plantations is no longer permitted, thus why existing oil palm on peatlands must be regulated more strictly. Sime Darby Plantation
|
|
|
March 29, 2023
Britain secures agreement to join Indo-Pacific trade bloc
LONDON — Britain will be welcomed into an Indo-Pacific trade bloc late Thursday as ministers from the soon-to-be 12-nation trade pact meet in a virtual ceremony across multiple time zones.
Chief negotiators and senior officials from member countries agreed Wednesday that Britain has met the high bar to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), four people familiar with the talks told POLITICO.
Negotiations are “done” and Britain’s accession is “all agreed [and] confirmed,” said a diplomat from one member nation. They were granted anonymity as they were unauthorized to discuss deliberations.
The U.K. will be the first new nation to join the pact since it was set up in 2018. Its existing members are Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and Canada.
Britain’s accession means it has met the high standards of the deal’s market access requirements and that it will align with the bloc's sanitary and phytosanitary standards as well as provisions like investor-state dispute settlement. The resolution of a spat between the U.K. and Canada over agricultural market access earlier this month smoothed the way to joining up.
Member states have been “wary” of the “precedent-setting nature” of Britain’s accession, a government official from a member nation said, as China’s application to join is next in the queue. That makes it in the U.K.’s interests to ensure acceding parties provide ambitious market access offers, they added. Politico
----------
Oil Palm Farmers Threatened to Boycott European Products If Anti-Deforestation Law Is Not Revoked
Jakarta -Palm oil farmers have held a concern action today. In this action, they want the European Union to repeal the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) or the anti-deforestation law.
"Yes, it has to be repealed, there are no revisions, the oil palm growers have no bargaining, so they have to withdraw," said Chair of the Indonesian Palm Oil Growers Association (APKASINDO) Gulat ME Manurung, in front of the Astra Tower, Central Jakarta, Wednesday (29/3/2023 ).
In fact, they said they would boycott various products originating from the European Union if the anti-deforestation law was not repealed.
"Airbuses, Nestle, BMW, we will carry out a negative campaign against them if it is not repealed. We are against all European Union products, we raid all malls, we remove all sunflower products, soybean oil, we remove them from malls," he explained .
In this action, several representatives of oil palm smallholders met with representatives of the European Union Ambassador in Indonesia, namely Chargé d'Affaires Mr. Stéphane François Mechati to submit the petition brought by the smallholders. The contents of the petition are:
Repeal EUDR targeting of Indonesian oil palm smallholders. The European Union should withdraw articles in its deforestation regulations that unfairly target non-European farmers and exempt farmers from the EUDR. There should be no discrimination in this matter.
Revoke the 'High Risk' labeling for the country of Indonesia which is the object of this regulation.
Respect and acknowledge ISPO (Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil) standards and regulations related to palm oil that apply in Indonesia. The ISPO certification scheme is mandatory for all Indonesian palm oil industry players, including smallholders. Regulations in Indonesia have supported intensification efforts through People's Oil Palm Rejuvenation (PSR) and rejected deforestation.
Ensuring that the European Union will no longer attack and discredit oil palm plantations as a plant that causes deforestation.
Apology: The European Union in writing to the millions of smallholders who will be affected by EUDR's discriminatory policies. Finance Detik
----------
EU-Transport biofuels cap under scrutiny after renewable energy drop
The fall in the quantity of renewable energy used in the transport sector, which dipped under 10% thanks largely to a change in how statistics are calculated, shows that the cap placed on waste biofuels is “nonsensical”, industry has said.
Despite little change in practical terms, recent figures released by Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency, show a steep fall in the quantity of renewable energy in the transport sector of some member states between 2020 and 2021.
The statistical drop is mainly due to applying a cap on second-generation biofuels made from used cooking oil (UCO) and certain animal fats.
While member states are free to use as much waste biofuels in their transport sector as they wish, it cannot be counted towards their renewable energy targets beyond a 1.7% share.
Biofuels derived from UCO and animal fats are considered a cost-effective means to displace fossil fuels from the road transport and maritime sectors, making them a popular choice to reduce transport emissions.
But as a result of the cap, the renewable energy share of countries that heavily relied on these biofuels was diminished.
Ireland, for example, saw its transport renewables share drop from 10.2% in 2020 to 4.3% in 2021. Hungary, similarly declined from a 11.6% share to 6.2%.
The application of the cap has led to a “major misrepresentation of the renewable energy share in transport for several member states”, meaning that the statistics no longer reflect the reality on the ground, Leonidas Kanonis, director for communications and analysis at the European Waste-based & Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), told EURACTIV.
“This statistical effect makes no sense and shows yet another major flaw of the 1.7% limitation, further justifying its complete deletion from the text of the [Renewable Energy Directive],” he added.
Capping biofuels
The 1.7% cap on biofuels derived from feedstocks set out in part B of Annex IX of the Renewable Energy Directive was added by EU lawmakers mainly as a protection against fraud in the importation of UCO.
Questions have been raised over the providence of UCO imported into the bloc from Asia, with allegations that palm oil – which is restricted in the bloc for fuel – is being fraudulently passed off as UCO.
However, the biofuels industry has contested the cap, arguing that new EU measures to address traceability and sustainability make it redundant.
Dickon Posnett, director of corporate affairs with Argent Energy and board member of EWABA, told EURACTIV that mechanisms such as the Union Database for Biofuels, an EU-designed measure currently being implemented to improve the traceability of the biofuels supply chain, are better placed to address fraud than an arbitrary limitation. EURACTIV
----------
Empowering the Asian Palm Oil Industry: APOA Stakeholders Meeting in Kuala Lumpur Sets a Course for Sustainable Development and Cooperation
The Asian Palm Oil Alliance (APOA) held a Stakeholder meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on March 6th, 2023. The meeting was attended by representatives from the global sustainable agriculture specialist organization Solidaridad Network, apex edible oil industry associations from five major palm oil importing countries in Asia, and major stakeholders, including Godrej International. The APOA was initiated by the Solvent Extractors Association of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal, together with Solidaridad with the aim of working across the world to promote sustainable palm oil and to ensure that palm oil is recognized as a high-quality, economical, and healthy vegetable oil.
Mr. Atul Chaturvedi, President of APOA, began the meeting by introducing the Asian Palm Oil Association and shared that the APOA is formed to empower several Asian countries for whom palm oil is a source of affordable food and nutrition. The APOA is expected to safeguard the economic and business interests of the palm-oil-consuming countries and create a level playing field for all oils and fats used in food, feed, and oleo chemicals in Asia. He also mentioned that in the coming year, the membership would be further expanded to include other select companies or industry organizations operating in the production and/or refining of palm oil in Asia.
Mr. Dorabh Mistry Director of Indian consumer goods company Godrej International suggested that Malaysian and Indonesian Palm oil growers and producers be invited as they are an important part of the system. He expressed his happiness that this alliance is being formed between India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, as these are the countries that not only consume 40% of palm oil but also don’t create hurdles for palm oil producer countries. Adaderana
Britain secures agreement to join Indo-Pacific trade bloc
LONDON — Britain will be welcomed into an Indo-Pacific trade bloc late Thursday as ministers from the soon-to-be 12-nation trade pact meet in a virtual ceremony across multiple time zones.
Chief negotiators and senior officials from member countries agreed Wednesday that Britain has met the high bar to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), four people familiar with the talks told POLITICO.
Negotiations are “done” and Britain’s accession is “all agreed [and] confirmed,” said a diplomat from one member nation. They were granted anonymity as they were unauthorized to discuss deliberations.
The U.K. will be the first new nation to join the pact since it was set up in 2018. Its existing members are Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and Canada.
Britain’s accession means it has met the high standards of the deal’s market access requirements and that it will align with the bloc's sanitary and phytosanitary standards as well as provisions like investor-state dispute settlement. The resolution of a spat between the U.K. and Canada over agricultural market access earlier this month smoothed the way to joining up.
Member states have been “wary” of the “precedent-setting nature” of Britain’s accession, a government official from a member nation said, as China’s application to join is next in the queue. That makes it in the U.K.’s interests to ensure acceding parties provide ambitious market access offers, they added. Politico
----------
Oil Palm Farmers Threatened to Boycott European Products If Anti-Deforestation Law Is Not Revoked
Jakarta -Palm oil farmers have held a concern action today. In this action, they want the European Union to repeal the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) or the anti-deforestation law.
"Yes, it has to be repealed, there are no revisions, the oil palm growers have no bargaining, so they have to withdraw," said Chair of the Indonesian Palm Oil Growers Association (APKASINDO) Gulat ME Manurung, in front of the Astra Tower, Central Jakarta, Wednesday (29/3/2023 ).
In fact, they said they would boycott various products originating from the European Union if the anti-deforestation law was not repealed.
"Airbuses, Nestle, BMW, we will carry out a negative campaign against them if it is not repealed. We are against all European Union products, we raid all malls, we remove all sunflower products, soybean oil, we remove them from malls," he explained .
In this action, several representatives of oil palm smallholders met with representatives of the European Union Ambassador in Indonesia, namely Chargé d'Affaires Mr. Stéphane François Mechati to submit the petition brought by the smallholders. The contents of the petition are:
Repeal EUDR targeting of Indonesian oil palm smallholders. The European Union should withdraw articles in its deforestation regulations that unfairly target non-European farmers and exempt farmers from the EUDR. There should be no discrimination in this matter.
Revoke the 'High Risk' labeling for the country of Indonesia which is the object of this regulation.
Respect and acknowledge ISPO (Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil) standards and regulations related to palm oil that apply in Indonesia. The ISPO certification scheme is mandatory for all Indonesian palm oil industry players, including smallholders. Regulations in Indonesia have supported intensification efforts through People's Oil Palm Rejuvenation (PSR) and rejected deforestation.
Ensuring that the European Union will no longer attack and discredit oil palm plantations as a plant that causes deforestation.
Apology: The European Union in writing to the millions of smallholders who will be affected by EUDR's discriminatory policies. Finance Detik
----------
EU-Transport biofuels cap under scrutiny after renewable energy drop
The fall in the quantity of renewable energy used in the transport sector, which dipped under 10% thanks largely to a change in how statistics are calculated, shows that the cap placed on waste biofuels is “nonsensical”, industry has said.
Despite little change in practical terms, recent figures released by Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency, show a steep fall in the quantity of renewable energy in the transport sector of some member states between 2020 and 2021.
The statistical drop is mainly due to applying a cap on second-generation biofuels made from used cooking oil (UCO) and certain animal fats.
While member states are free to use as much waste biofuels in their transport sector as they wish, it cannot be counted towards their renewable energy targets beyond a 1.7% share.
Biofuels derived from UCO and animal fats are considered a cost-effective means to displace fossil fuels from the road transport and maritime sectors, making them a popular choice to reduce transport emissions.
But as a result of the cap, the renewable energy share of countries that heavily relied on these biofuels was diminished.
Ireland, for example, saw its transport renewables share drop from 10.2% in 2020 to 4.3% in 2021. Hungary, similarly declined from a 11.6% share to 6.2%.
The application of the cap has led to a “major misrepresentation of the renewable energy share in transport for several member states”, meaning that the statistics no longer reflect the reality on the ground, Leonidas Kanonis, director for communications and analysis at the European Waste-based & Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA), told EURACTIV.
“This statistical effect makes no sense and shows yet another major flaw of the 1.7% limitation, further justifying its complete deletion from the text of the [Renewable Energy Directive],” he added.
Capping biofuels
The 1.7% cap on biofuels derived from feedstocks set out in part B of Annex IX of the Renewable Energy Directive was added by EU lawmakers mainly as a protection against fraud in the importation of UCO.
Questions have been raised over the providence of UCO imported into the bloc from Asia, with allegations that palm oil – which is restricted in the bloc for fuel – is being fraudulently passed off as UCO.
However, the biofuels industry has contested the cap, arguing that new EU measures to address traceability and sustainability make it redundant.
Dickon Posnett, director of corporate affairs with Argent Energy and board member of EWABA, told EURACTIV that mechanisms such as the Union Database for Biofuels, an EU-designed measure currently being implemented to improve the traceability of the biofuels supply chain, are better placed to address fraud than an arbitrary limitation. EURACTIV
----------
Empowering the Asian Palm Oil Industry: APOA Stakeholders Meeting in Kuala Lumpur Sets a Course for Sustainable Development and Cooperation
The Asian Palm Oil Alliance (APOA) held a Stakeholder meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on March 6th, 2023. The meeting was attended by representatives from the global sustainable agriculture specialist organization Solidaridad Network, apex edible oil industry associations from five major palm oil importing countries in Asia, and major stakeholders, including Godrej International. The APOA was initiated by the Solvent Extractors Association of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal, together with Solidaridad with the aim of working across the world to promote sustainable palm oil and to ensure that palm oil is recognized as a high-quality, economical, and healthy vegetable oil.
Mr. Atul Chaturvedi, President of APOA, began the meeting by introducing the Asian Palm Oil Association and shared that the APOA is formed to empower several Asian countries for whom palm oil is a source of affordable food and nutrition. The APOA is expected to safeguard the economic and business interests of the palm-oil-consuming countries and create a level playing field for all oils and fats used in food, feed, and oleo chemicals in Asia. He also mentioned that in the coming year, the membership would be further expanded to include other select companies or industry organizations operating in the production and/or refining of palm oil in Asia.
Mr. Dorabh Mistry Director of Indian consumer goods company Godrej International suggested that Malaysian and Indonesian Palm oil growers and producers be invited as they are an important part of the system. He expressed his happiness that this alliance is being formed between India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, as these are the countries that not only consume 40% of palm oil but also don’t create hurdles for palm oil producer countries. Adaderana
|
|
|
March 28, 2023
MPOC Europe Alert No. 19
One step closer: The European Parliament adopts the revision of the EU’s Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry Regulation
On 14 March 2023, the European Parliament adopted the revision of the EU’s Regulation on Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF), which follows the provisional political agreement reached, between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, on 2 November 2022. The Council of the EU is expected to officially adopt the revised LULUCF Regulation in the coming weeks.
The LULUCF Regulation accounts for the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals from the EU’s land use (i.e., agriculture) and forestry sectors. Most notably, currently, the LULUCF Regulation sets the objective of maintaining the amount of CO2 being absorbed annually by land and forests across the EU.
In particular, the current LULUCF Regulation requires EU Member States to ensure that, during the period from 2021 to 2030, the accounted GHG emissions from LULUCF be compensated by an “equivalent accounted removal of CO2 from the atmosphere through action in the LULUCF sector”. For instance, if an EU Member State converts forests to other land uses (deforestation), it must compensate for the resulting emissions by, for example, planting new forests or improving the sustainable management of existing forests.
As the current LULUCF Regulation did not incentivise EU Member States to actually increase their carbon sinks, but only to maintain their levels, the revised LULUCF Regulation will introduce a mandatory target for each EU Member State, which will apply during the period from 2026 to 2030. Each EU Member State will have to increase its carbon sinks, so as to ensure the removal of CO2 in excess of their LULUCF emissions.
Possible actions: The revised LULUCF Regulation will not immediately have an impact on palm oil, but this piece of legislation must be seen in the context of other relevant EU legislation, such as the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive. In the context of CO2 sequestration, the important role that sustainably produced palm oil could play must be underlined. Unlike soy or rapeseed cultivations, oil palm plantations work as carbon sinks. In fact, Malaysia is considered as one of the very few net carbon sinks around the world.
In view of its own carbon sink policies under the LULUCF Regulation, the EU should finally recognise the benefits of palm oil and oil palm cultivation. Malaysia should continue engaging with the EU and ensure that Malaysia’s unique position as a net carbon sink be recognised and that discriminatory practices by EU Members States against palm oil be avoided. MPOC Europe
----------
Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon Lead African Countries With Highest Palm Oil Production
According to Statista, Benin and Côte d'Ivoire were Africa's largest exporters of palm oil in 2018. The countries exported around 460,000 metric tons and 200,000 metric tons of the product, respectively.
But analysts say Russia's invasion of Ukraine has impacted the palm oil business and triggered knock-on effects on the product. The crisis has propelled the prices of palm oil, primarily found in dishes in Nigeria and other African countries, to record high prices, according to a Reuters report. Analysts say the war will deepen food costs and inflict heavy financial casualties on the poorest. The crisis has also led Indonesia, a top palm oil exporter, to ban some exports in recent times to control domestic prices, as food costs account for 40% of households' consumer spending in Africa. LegitNG
MPOC Europe Alert No. 19
One step closer: The European Parliament adopts the revision of the EU’s Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry Regulation
On 14 March 2023, the European Parliament adopted the revision of the EU’s Regulation on Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF), which follows the provisional political agreement reached, between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, on 2 November 2022. The Council of the EU is expected to officially adopt the revised LULUCF Regulation in the coming weeks.
The LULUCF Regulation accounts for the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals from the EU’s land use (i.e., agriculture) and forestry sectors. Most notably, currently, the LULUCF Regulation sets the objective of maintaining the amount of CO2 being absorbed annually by land and forests across the EU.
In particular, the current LULUCF Regulation requires EU Member States to ensure that, during the period from 2021 to 2030, the accounted GHG emissions from LULUCF be compensated by an “equivalent accounted removal of CO2 from the atmosphere through action in the LULUCF sector”. For instance, if an EU Member State converts forests to other land uses (deforestation), it must compensate for the resulting emissions by, for example, planting new forests or improving the sustainable management of existing forests.
As the current LULUCF Regulation did not incentivise EU Member States to actually increase their carbon sinks, but only to maintain their levels, the revised LULUCF Regulation will introduce a mandatory target for each EU Member State, which will apply during the period from 2026 to 2030. Each EU Member State will have to increase its carbon sinks, so as to ensure the removal of CO2 in excess of their LULUCF emissions.
Possible actions: The revised LULUCF Regulation will not immediately have an impact on palm oil, but this piece of legislation must be seen in the context of other relevant EU legislation, such as the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive. In the context of CO2 sequestration, the important role that sustainably produced palm oil could play must be underlined. Unlike soy or rapeseed cultivations, oil palm plantations work as carbon sinks. In fact, Malaysia is considered as one of the very few net carbon sinks around the world.
In view of its own carbon sink policies under the LULUCF Regulation, the EU should finally recognise the benefits of palm oil and oil palm cultivation. Malaysia should continue engaging with the EU and ensure that Malaysia’s unique position as a net carbon sink be recognised and that discriminatory practices by EU Members States against palm oil be avoided. MPOC Europe
----------
Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon Lead African Countries With Highest Palm Oil Production
According to Statista, Benin and Côte d'Ivoire were Africa's largest exporters of palm oil in 2018. The countries exported around 460,000 metric tons and 200,000 metric tons of the product, respectively.
But analysts say Russia's invasion of Ukraine has impacted the palm oil business and triggered knock-on effects on the product. The crisis has propelled the prices of palm oil, primarily found in dishes in Nigeria and other African countries, to record high prices, according to a Reuters report. Analysts say the war will deepen food costs and inflict heavy financial casualties on the poorest. The crisis has also led Indonesia, a top palm oil exporter, to ban some exports in recent times to control domestic prices, as food costs account for 40% of households' consumer spending in Africa. LegitNG
|
|
|
March 27, 2023
Malaysia-Time for tripartite retaliation against EU on palm oil
DISCRIMINATION against palm oil has been ongoing for decades, facing Western scrutiny since the 1990s. Allegations upon allegations were thrown against oil palm estates and edible oil, each more daunting than before. Cancer triggers, killing orangutans, deforestation and forced labour are among the accusations made against producing countries.
Malaysia, the world’s most prominent palm oil producer decades ago before being overtaken by Indonesia, has always engaged in dialogues with the West to refute the allegations through research and consistent testing. However, the goalpost keeps moving.
Major palm oil-producing countries will soon retaliate with a harsher approach in trading with the European Union (EU) member economies, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof told The Malaysian Reserve in an interview.
Fadillah said Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand have agreed to consider counteracting palm oil resistance by reviewing EU imports or slowing down overall trade. The Malaysian Reserve
-----------
Indonesia-Palm Oil Farmers Take to the Streets, Protest European Policies
Oil palm smallholders who are members of the Indonesian Oil Palm Farmers Association (APKASINDO), the Association of Smallholders' Nucleus Oil Palm Plantations (ASPEKPIR), and SAMADE (Sawitku, Masa Depanku) will take action on the streets to protest the European Union's deforestation policies which are detrimental to oil palm smallholders.
Later, this action will take place at two demonstration locations, namely the European Union Embassy for Indonesia and the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday (29 March 2023) and will end with the delivery of the palm oil smallholders' letter to the Presidential Palace by the representative of the action of concern.
This action will be supported by the children of oil palm farmers and oil palm workers who are members of the Formasi (Indonesian Palm Oil Student Forum). Dr. Gulat ME Manurung, C.IMA, Chairman of the APKASINDO DPP, explained that Apkasindo had opened a space for dialogue with the EU delegation. It was recorded that five meetings had taken place, one of which was held in Riau. However, it seems that there has been no result that stirred the hearts of the EU delegation regarding the fate of small farmers after the implementation of the European Union's Deforestation Law. Translated from Majalah Hortus
----------
Not in good conscience: Malaysia government and agricultural leaders condemn ‘highly demeaning’ EU deforestation regulation
Government and industry representatives from the palm oil and rubber sectors in Malaysia have urged the European Union (EU) to withdraw ‘highly demeaning’ clauses within its controversial deforestation regulation, punctuating this with a 500-strong protest in the capital city centre. Food Navigator Asia
----------
Malaysia-Palm oil industry face 3-5 years production halt due to replanting curbs
This will result in lower FFB yield and higher cost
PALM oil expansion looks less promising in the long run as stricter regulations are slowing down growth of new oil palm cultivation thus, lowering yield of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) and pushing up costs.
Kenanga Research in a recent note cautioned that palm oil production could be put on hold for three to five years for the industry to replenish older palms with younger saplings.
“Longer term, the growth for palm oil looks less rosy. Expansion in the form of new oil palm planting is slowing due to tighter regulations,” the research house said.
It noted that Indonesia, which has 15 million ha area of oil palm trees has only three to four million ha left for the crop, while Malaysian oil palm area has been contracting even before reaching a voluntary cap of 6.5 million ha.
“This implies fewer young and prime palms over the coming years while palms planted in the 1990s and 2000s are growing older and taller, slowing down harvest, lowering FFB yield and pushing up costs…Replanting will eventually be necessary leading to a production pause for three to five years,” it said. The Malaysian Reserve
Malaysia-Time for tripartite retaliation against EU on palm oil
DISCRIMINATION against palm oil has been ongoing for decades, facing Western scrutiny since the 1990s. Allegations upon allegations were thrown against oil palm estates and edible oil, each more daunting than before. Cancer triggers, killing orangutans, deforestation and forced labour are among the accusations made against producing countries.
Malaysia, the world’s most prominent palm oil producer decades ago before being overtaken by Indonesia, has always engaged in dialogues with the West to refute the allegations through research and consistent testing. However, the goalpost keeps moving.
Major palm oil-producing countries will soon retaliate with a harsher approach in trading with the European Union (EU) member economies, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof told The Malaysian Reserve in an interview.
Fadillah said Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand have agreed to consider counteracting palm oil resistance by reviewing EU imports or slowing down overall trade. The Malaysian Reserve
-----------
Indonesia-Palm Oil Farmers Take to the Streets, Protest European Policies
Oil palm smallholders who are members of the Indonesian Oil Palm Farmers Association (APKASINDO), the Association of Smallholders' Nucleus Oil Palm Plantations (ASPEKPIR), and SAMADE (Sawitku, Masa Depanku) will take action on the streets to protest the European Union's deforestation policies which are detrimental to oil palm smallholders.
Later, this action will take place at two demonstration locations, namely the European Union Embassy for Indonesia and the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday (29 March 2023) and will end with the delivery of the palm oil smallholders' letter to the Presidential Palace by the representative of the action of concern.
This action will be supported by the children of oil palm farmers and oil palm workers who are members of the Formasi (Indonesian Palm Oil Student Forum). Dr. Gulat ME Manurung, C.IMA, Chairman of the APKASINDO DPP, explained that Apkasindo had opened a space for dialogue with the EU delegation. It was recorded that five meetings had taken place, one of which was held in Riau. However, it seems that there has been no result that stirred the hearts of the EU delegation regarding the fate of small farmers after the implementation of the European Union's Deforestation Law. Translated from Majalah Hortus
----------
Not in good conscience: Malaysia government and agricultural leaders condemn ‘highly demeaning’ EU deforestation regulation
Government and industry representatives from the palm oil and rubber sectors in Malaysia have urged the European Union (EU) to withdraw ‘highly demeaning’ clauses within its controversial deforestation regulation, punctuating this with a 500-strong protest in the capital city centre. Food Navigator Asia
----------
Malaysia-Palm oil industry face 3-5 years production halt due to replanting curbs
This will result in lower FFB yield and higher cost
PALM oil expansion looks less promising in the long run as stricter regulations are slowing down growth of new oil palm cultivation thus, lowering yield of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) and pushing up costs.
Kenanga Research in a recent note cautioned that palm oil production could be put on hold for three to five years for the industry to replenish older palms with younger saplings.
“Longer term, the growth for palm oil looks less rosy. Expansion in the form of new oil palm planting is slowing due to tighter regulations,” the research house said.
It noted that Indonesia, which has 15 million ha area of oil palm trees has only three to four million ha left for the crop, while Malaysian oil palm area has been contracting even before reaching a voluntary cap of 6.5 million ha.
“This implies fewer young and prime palms over the coming years while palms planted in the 1990s and 2000s are growing older and taller, slowing down harvest, lowering FFB yield and pushing up costs…Replanting will eventually be necessary leading to a production pause for three to five years,” it said. The Malaysian Reserve
|
|
|
March 23, 2023
Shortage of cooking oil looms as biofuels gain global appeal
A global biofuel boom is set to drive a shortage of vegetable oils — used for cooking and now increasingly to power trucks and planes — intensifying a debate over food versus fuel.
From the U.S. to Brazil and Indonesia, governments are embracing energy made from plants like soybeans or canola, or even animal fat, to move away from fossil fuels and cut emissions. This has created opportunities for vegetable oils, especially palm oil, an ubiquitous but controversial ingredient found in products like pizza dough, instant noodles, chocolate and shampoo.
Demand is so hot that producers are hunting for used cooking oil and sludge, a waste product from processing palm oil, as feedstocks for biofuels.
These lofty ambitions may face challenges. War and extreme weather are limiting vegetable oil supplies. A severe drought has devastated production in Argentina, the top exporter of soybean oil. In Europe, restrictions on using bee-toxic pesticides will curb planting of rapeseed that relies on the pollinators, while Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine will slash sunflower oil exports.
With growth in vegetable oil production expected to slow, biofuels could push the global market into a deficit in the second half of the year, according to Thomas Mielke, executive director of Hamburg-based Oil World. BNN Bloomberg
----------
Malaysian associations strongly urge review of EUDR implementation, recognition of oil palm smallholders
KUALA LUMPUR (March 23): The European Union (EU) has apparently failed to understand the processes involved in the Malaysian palm oil supply chain and it has refused to recognise the existence of smallholders in the entire supply chain, said Sarawak Dayak Oil Palm Planters Association (Doppa).
Its president Napolean R. Ningkos said failing to recognise the existence of smallholders in the entire supply chain may cause the rejection of crop supply from smallholders to the processing facilities that have been certified with the European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) compliance for the EU market.
“With the current escalation of agriculture input costs, smallholders are not able to absorb any more additional costs for new compliance by the EU.
“If the EU will not provide any incentive to smallholders to meet EU demand, then it is justifiable for the EU to accept the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO), which is inclusive and has addressed all issues raised by the EU such as deforestation, child labour, and forced labour,” he told Bernama.
Napolean stressed that the implementation of the EUDR would pose a serious and adverse effect on Malaysian smallholders, as they could be potentially removed from the entire supply chain. The Edge Markets/ Bernama
----------
Indian government to procure 1.5M tonnes of rapeseed as prices fall below minimum support price
The Indian government has announced plans to procure 1.5M tonnes of rapeseed from farmers in Rajasthan – the country’s biggest producer – in response to prices falling below the minimum support price (MSP), according to a Financial Express report.
Sources said the Rajasthan state co-operative marketing federation (Rajfed) was likely to procure rapeseed at the MSP from 1 April under the agriculture ministry’s oilseeds price support scheme.
“Procurement by government agencies is likely to push mandi [wholesale market] prices above MSP,” an official was quoted as saying in the 14 March report.
Rapeseed was being harvested at the time of the report and the oilseed would start to be delivered to market by the end of March.
While farmers had received prices higher than MSP over the last two years, this year’s record harvest was expected to hit producers hard due to a sharp drop in prices, according to Roop Singh, CEO of Uttan Mustard Producers Company.
India’s agriculture ministry estimated rapeseed production at a record 12.8M tonnes in the 2022/23 crop year (July-June), the report said. The planted area had been reported at a record 9.8M ha, which was 64% higher than the last five years’ average planted area of 6.4M ha. OFI Magazine
Shortage of cooking oil looms as biofuels gain global appeal
A global biofuel boom is set to drive a shortage of vegetable oils — used for cooking and now increasingly to power trucks and planes — intensifying a debate over food versus fuel.
From the U.S. to Brazil and Indonesia, governments are embracing energy made from plants like soybeans or canola, or even animal fat, to move away from fossil fuels and cut emissions. This has created opportunities for vegetable oils, especially palm oil, an ubiquitous but controversial ingredient found in products like pizza dough, instant noodles, chocolate and shampoo.
Demand is so hot that producers are hunting for used cooking oil and sludge, a waste product from processing palm oil, as feedstocks for biofuels.
These lofty ambitions may face challenges. War and extreme weather are limiting vegetable oil supplies. A severe drought has devastated production in Argentina, the top exporter of soybean oil. In Europe, restrictions on using bee-toxic pesticides will curb planting of rapeseed that relies on the pollinators, while Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine will slash sunflower oil exports.
With growth in vegetable oil production expected to slow, biofuels could push the global market into a deficit in the second half of the year, according to Thomas Mielke, executive director of Hamburg-based Oil World. BNN Bloomberg
----------
Malaysian associations strongly urge review of EUDR implementation, recognition of oil palm smallholders
KUALA LUMPUR (March 23): The European Union (EU) has apparently failed to understand the processes involved in the Malaysian palm oil supply chain and it has refused to recognise the existence of smallholders in the entire supply chain, said Sarawak Dayak Oil Palm Planters Association (Doppa).
Its president Napolean R. Ningkos said failing to recognise the existence of smallholders in the entire supply chain may cause the rejection of crop supply from smallholders to the processing facilities that have been certified with the European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) compliance for the EU market.
“With the current escalation of agriculture input costs, smallholders are not able to absorb any more additional costs for new compliance by the EU.
“If the EU will not provide any incentive to smallholders to meet EU demand, then it is justifiable for the EU to accept the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO), which is inclusive and has addressed all issues raised by the EU such as deforestation, child labour, and forced labour,” he told Bernama.
Napolean stressed that the implementation of the EUDR would pose a serious and adverse effect on Malaysian smallholders, as they could be potentially removed from the entire supply chain. The Edge Markets/ Bernama
----------
Indian government to procure 1.5M tonnes of rapeseed as prices fall below minimum support price
The Indian government has announced plans to procure 1.5M tonnes of rapeseed from farmers in Rajasthan – the country’s biggest producer – in response to prices falling below the minimum support price (MSP), according to a Financial Express report.
Sources said the Rajasthan state co-operative marketing federation (Rajfed) was likely to procure rapeseed at the MSP from 1 April under the agriculture ministry’s oilseeds price support scheme.
“Procurement by government agencies is likely to push mandi [wholesale market] prices above MSP,” an official was quoted as saying in the 14 March report.
Rapeseed was being harvested at the time of the report and the oilseed would start to be delivered to market by the end of March.
While farmers had received prices higher than MSP over the last two years, this year’s record harvest was expected to hit producers hard due to a sharp drop in prices, according to Roop Singh, CEO of Uttan Mustard Producers Company.
India’s agriculture ministry estimated rapeseed production at a record 12.8M tonnes in the 2022/23 crop year (July-June), the report said. The planted area had been reported at a record 9.8M ha, which was 64% higher than the last five years’ average planted area of 6.4M ha. OFI Magazine
|
|
|
March 22, 2023
Malaysia-MPOC to continue engaging with EU in demanding changes to its deforestation regulation
KUALA LUMPUR (March 22): The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) will continue to engage with the European Union (EU) to demand changes to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
MPOC chief executive officer Belvinder Kaur Sron said the MPOC fully supports the efforts of Malaysia’s smallholders to defend their families and their communities.
“Malaysian palm oil is sustainable, and should never be considered high-risk.
“The EU must provide an exemption for smallholders under the EUDR, and offer a guarantee that Malaysia will not be designated as a high-risk jurisdiction for deforestation,” she said in a statement on Wednesday (March 22).
On Tuesday, a delegation of leaders of Malaysia’s major smallholders organisations presented a petition on the EUDR to the EU Commission's headquarters in Brussels.
The move followed a protest held on March 15 by several hundred oil palm and rubber small farmers from the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), the National Association of Smallholders, the Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority, the Sarawak Dayak Oil Palm Planters Association, Felcra Bhd, and the Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority.
These groups represented 2.5 million Malaysian smallholders and their families. The Edge Markets
Malaysia-MPOC to continue engaging with EU in demanding changes to its deforestation regulation
KUALA LUMPUR (March 22): The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) will continue to engage with the European Union (EU) to demand changes to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
MPOC chief executive officer Belvinder Kaur Sron said the MPOC fully supports the efforts of Malaysia’s smallholders to defend their families and their communities.
“Malaysian palm oil is sustainable, and should never be considered high-risk.
“The EU must provide an exemption for smallholders under the EUDR, and offer a guarantee that Malaysia will not be designated as a high-risk jurisdiction for deforestation,” she said in a statement on Wednesday (March 22).
On Tuesday, a delegation of leaders of Malaysia’s major smallholders organisations presented a petition on the EUDR to the EU Commission's headquarters in Brussels.
The move followed a protest held on March 15 by several hundred oil palm and rubber small farmers from the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), the National Association of Smallholders, the Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority, the Sarawak Dayak Oil Palm Planters Association, Felcra Bhd, and the Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority.
These groups represented 2.5 million Malaysian smallholders and their families. The Edge Markets
This tweet from Rob Francis from Borderlex, quoting MEP Heidi Hautala that the EU does not want to be "complicit in damaging your environment " sets the tone for palm oil producing countries.
Is the EU justified in demanding no damage to environment? How else would forest-rich but economically poor countries develop themselves sustainably?
Mining for rare earths to feed the EU's drive for "renewable energy" seems to have a green pass despite the knowledge that mining for rare minerals for electricity is causing major environmental damage in producing countries.
Is the EU justified in demanding no damage to environment? How else would forest-rich but economically poor countries develop themselves sustainably?
Mining for rare earths to feed the EU's drive for "renewable energy" seems to have a green pass despite the knowledge that mining for rare minerals for electricity is causing major environmental damage in producing countries.
|
|
|
March 21, 2023
CPOPC contributes germinated seedlings to assist smallholders in Honduras
JAKARTA, Indonesia, March 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) and the Indonesian and Malaysian private sectors contributed a total 102,000 oil palm germinated seed (GS) in response to the plight of the smallholders in Honduras to help them address the impacts of Eta and Iota hurricanes that devastated their country on 20th November 2020. The GS contribution is CPOPC small way of rendering assistance and facilitating the smallholders palm oil production in Honduras.
Honduras has completed its accession process and will be the 3rd country to be a full member of CPOPC in May 2023.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Plantation and Commodities of Malaysia and the Chairman of CPOPC, Dato' Sri Haji Fadillah Yusof, reiterated that the contribution signifies close cooperation among palm oil producing countries. "CPOPC has proven its importance in the development of palm oil sectors globally. This contribution also signifies our recognition of Honduras as an important ally of CPOPC. It is only right for us to extend our assistance with the germinated seeds, and I hope this will help in fostering stronger ties between the members and observer countries moving forward," said Dato' Fadillah.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Airlangga Hartarto, viewed the contribution as a humanitarian response which is expected to further strengthen the partnership between CPOPC and Honduras. "I would like to reiterate the importance of a strengthened alliance among palm oil producing countries and for CPOPC to be visible and assume a more significant role in the near future. This germinated seed contribution should be seen as a first step towards a much more better cooperation between producing countries," said Airlangga.
Minister of Agriculture of Honduras, Laura Suazo, virtually attended the ceremony and expressed her warmest thanks for the contribution of the oil palm seeds. "We hope that the acceptance of Honduras to CPOPC will be very beneficial to them as a new member country. We are together and we will stay together so that our palm growers always get the best out of this alliance," said Laura responding to the congratulatory messages of the accession of Honduras. PR Newswire
----------
European Union Ambassador to Indonesia: We Must Be Fair to Trading Partners
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - THE European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) passed by the European Parliament on December 6 with the view to ensure that each commodity traded in the EU market is legal and is not associated with deforestation or deforestation-free is causing concerns among exporting countries. “But we believe most suppliers can meet these standards,” EU Ambassador to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam, Vincent Piket, told Tempo on February 16. He also answered Tempo’s written queries last Tuesday, March 14.
Henriette Faergemann, First Counselor for Environment, Climate Change and Digital Cooperation who accompanied Piket added that albeit adopted, the regulation was still subject to fine-tuning in the few months. The law will come into effect in May or June with a transition period of 18 to 24 months.
Vincent said Indonesia already had a number of systems in place such as the Timber Legality and Verification System (SVLK), the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO), and the Jangka Benah strategy (a long-term forest rehabilitation strategy) to verify commodities’ legal sustainability requirement status. He added SVLK and ISPO certifications can verify the legality aspect of commodities but not the deforestation-free status. The commodities produced through the Jangka Benah system are most likely to be considered agroforestry products and the government must ensure their legality aspect. Excerpts of the interview: Tempo
----------
Telangana: Palm oil cultivation to be increased to 2 lakh acres
The government has issued orders allocating factory zones for the expansion of oil palm in the newly identified areas of the state. So far an area of 9.49 lakh acres has been notified for the cultivation of these crops.
Hyderabad: Telangana agriculture department is set to increase the area under palm oil cultivation to 10 lakh acres in the next four years and plans to cultivate palm oil in 2 lakh acres in the year 2023-24.
The government has issued orders allocating factory zones for the expansion of oil palm in the newly identified areas of the state. So far an area of 9.49 lakh acres has been notified for the cultivation of these crops.
The government is providing assistance to take up oil palm cultivation with 50% assistance on mechanisation and plans to take up oil palm cultivation on a mission mode as part of crop diversification, said a government press release here on Monday.
Telangana ranks first in the country in Oil Production Percentage (OER) with 19.32 per cent in 2021-22. Among the oilseed crops, palm oil is the highest yield with 10-12 tons per acre, for a period of 25-30 years.
The government pays a subsidy of up to Rs 50,918 per acre for oil palm plantations, ownership intercropping and micro-irrigation for the first four years. Siasat
----------
Review on Carbon Footprint of the Palm Oil Industry: Insights into Recent Developments
A typical palm oil mill is estimated to produce greenhouse gas emissions of 637–1,131 kg CO2 eq/t crude palm oil. Huge efforts are being made to reduce the carbon footprint of palm oil mills. However, the data from such research works have not been consolidated. This paper is a critical review of the most recent developments in the palm oil milling process and unit operations that leads to greenhouse gas emissions, specifically focusing on the development of palm oil mills today. In addition, the paper explored the importance of energy self-sufficiency of palm oil mills. To do so, the author compared this configuration with a mill that requires an external power supply and estimated that a self-sufficient palm oil mill could potentially reduce emissions by 457 kg CO2 eq/t crude palm oil. Methods with the greatest positive effect on the carbon footprint have been identified for further investigation. IIETA
----------
PepsiCo asks suppliers to avoid buying palm oil from Astra Agro Lestari in Indonesia
The food and beverage giant cut ties with Astra Agro Lestari, which has faced allegations of land grabbing and human rights abuses.
PepsiCo is among the latest consumer goods companies to ban palm oil from Indonesia-based conglomerate Astra Agro Lestari in its supply chain.
AAL, which owns palm oil plantations in Indonesia, was accused last year of human rights abuses and land grabbing.
In an open letter, the International Federation for Human Rights asked several major consumer goods companies, including PepsiCo, to cut AAL from their supply chains over its “sustained role in forcibly grabbing communities’ land, contributing to environmental destruction, negatively impacting communities’ livelihoods, and criminalizing land and environmental human rights defenders.”
Other companies addressed in the letter include Hershey’s, Kellogg, Unilever, Nestlé and Procter & Gamble. Food Dive
CPOPC contributes germinated seedlings to assist smallholders in Honduras
JAKARTA, Indonesia, March 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) and the Indonesian and Malaysian private sectors contributed a total 102,000 oil palm germinated seed (GS) in response to the plight of the smallholders in Honduras to help them address the impacts of Eta and Iota hurricanes that devastated their country on 20th November 2020. The GS contribution is CPOPC small way of rendering assistance and facilitating the smallholders palm oil production in Honduras.
Honduras has completed its accession process and will be the 3rd country to be a full member of CPOPC in May 2023.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Plantation and Commodities of Malaysia and the Chairman of CPOPC, Dato' Sri Haji Fadillah Yusof, reiterated that the contribution signifies close cooperation among palm oil producing countries. "CPOPC has proven its importance in the development of palm oil sectors globally. This contribution also signifies our recognition of Honduras as an important ally of CPOPC. It is only right for us to extend our assistance with the germinated seeds, and I hope this will help in fostering stronger ties between the members and observer countries moving forward," said Dato' Fadillah.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Airlangga Hartarto, viewed the contribution as a humanitarian response which is expected to further strengthen the partnership between CPOPC and Honduras. "I would like to reiterate the importance of a strengthened alliance among palm oil producing countries and for CPOPC to be visible and assume a more significant role in the near future. This germinated seed contribution should be seen as a first step towards a much more better cooperation between producing countries," said Airlangga.
Minister of Agriculture of Honduras, Laura Suazo, virtually attended the ceremony and expressed her warmest thanks for the contribution of the oil palm seeds. "We hope that the acceptance of Honduras to CPOPC will be very beneficial to them as a new member country. We are together and we will stay together so that our palm growers always get the best out of this alliance," said Laura responding to the congratulatory messages of the accession of Honduras. PR Newswire
----------
European Union Ambassador to Indonesia: We Must Be Fair to Trading Partners
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - THE European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) passed by the European Parliament on December 6 with the view to ensure that each commodity traded in the EU market is legal and is not associated with deforestation or deforestation-free is causing concerns among exporting countries. “But we believe most suppliers can meet these standards,” EU Ambassador to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam, Vincent Piket, told Tempo on February 16. He also answered Tempo’s written queries last Tuesday, March 14.
Henriette Faergemann, First Counselor for Environment, Climate Change and Digital Cooperation who accompanied Piket added that albeit adopted, the regulation was still subject to fine-tuning in the few months. The law will come into effect in May or June with a transition period of 18 to 24 months.
Vincent said Indonesia already had a number of systems in place such as the Timber Legality and Verification System (SVLK), the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO), and the Jangka Benah strategy (a long-term forest rehabilitation strategy) to verify commodities’ legal sustainability requirement status. He added SVLK and ISPO certifications can verify the legality aspect of commodities but not the deforestation-free status. The commodities produced through the Jangka Benah system are most likely to be considered agroforestry products and the government must ensure their legality aspect. Excerpts of the interview: Tempo
----------
Telangana: Palm oil cultivation to be increased to 2 lakh acres
The government has issued orders allocating factory zones for the expansion of oil palm in the newly identified areas of the state. So far an area of 9.49 lakh acres has been notified for the cultivation of these crops.
Hyderabad: Telangana agriculture department is set to increase the area under palm oil cultivation to 10 lakh acres in the next four years and plans to cultivate palm oil in 2 lakh acres in the year 2023-24.
The government has issued orders allocating factory zones for the expansion of oil palm in the newly identified areas of the state. So far an area of 9.49 lakh acres has been notified for the cultivation of these crops.
The government is providing assistance to take up oil palm cultivation with 50% assistance on mechanisation and plans to take up oil palm cultivation on a mission mode as part of crop diversification, said a government press release here on Monday.
Telangana ranks first in the country in Oil Production Percentage (OER) with 19.32 per cent in 2021-22. Among the oilseed crops, palm oil is the highest yield with 10-12 tons per acre, for a period of 25-30 years.
The government pays a subsidy of up to Rs 50,918 per acre for oil palm plantations, ownership intercropping and micro-irrigation for the first four years. Siasat
----------
Review on Carbon Footprint of the Palm Oil Industry: Insights into Recent Developments
A typical palm oil mill is estimated to produce greenhouse gas emissions of 637–1,131 kg CO2 eq/t crude palm oil. Huge efforts are being made to reduce the carbon footprint of palm oil mills. However, the data from such research works have not been consolidated. This paper is a critical review of the most recent developments in the palm oil milling process and unit operations that leads to greenhouse gas emissions, specifically focusing on the development of palm oil mills today. In addition, the paper explored the importance of energy self-sufficiency of palm oil mills. To do so, the author compared this configuration with a mill that requires an external power supply and estimated that a self-sufficient palm oil mill could potentially reduce emissions by 457 kg CO2 eq/t crude palm oil. Methods with the greatest positive effect on the carbon footprint have been identified for further investigation. IIETA
----------
PepsiCo asks suppliers to avoid buying palm oil from Astra Agro Lestari in Indonesia
The food and beverage giant cut ties with Astra Agro Lestari, which has faced allegations of land grabbing and human rights abuses.
PepsiCo is among the latest consumer goods companies to ban palm oil from Indonesia-based conglomerate Astra Agro Lestari in its supply chain.
AAL, which owns palm oil plantations in Indonesia, was accused last year of human rights abuses and land grabbing.
In an open letter, the International Federation for Human Rights asked several major consumer goods companies, including PepsiCo, to cut AAL from their supply chains over its “sustained role in forcibly grabbing communities’ land, contributing to environmental destruction, negatively impacting communities’ livelihoods, and criminalizing land and environmental human rights defenders.”
Other companies addressed in the letter include Hershey’s, Kellogg, Unilever, Nestlé and Procter & Gamble. Food Dive
|
|
|
March 20, 2023
Huge untapped potentials in Malaysia-Turkiye’s trade, investment
Malaysia is Turkiye’s largest trading partner in Asean with total trade of RM20.6b in 2022, a growth of 35% from 2021
THERE is a huge untapped potential in trade and investment between Turkiye and Malaysia.
Turkiye Ambassador to Malaysia Emir Salim Yuksel said Malaysia is Turkiye’s largest trading partner in Asean with total trade of US$4.7 billion (RM20.59 billion) in 2022, a growth of 35% from 2021.
He said different sectors of Turkish and Malaysian economies interacted, operated and complemented each other, ranging from outer space to the construction business.
“We have elevated our partnership last July from strategic partnership to compressive studies, which means that we have to deepen our relationships, every item and every subject,” he told Bernama at the sideline of the Turkish-Malaysian Trade Delegation Kuala Lumpur 2023 and Business-to-Business (B2B) Meetings event on March 13.
Malaysia and Turkiye signed the Free Trade Agreement (MTFTA), which came into effect on Aug 1, 2015. The Malaysian Reserve
----------
Petroleum, LNG products boost Malaysia’s February exports; nearly 10% growth exceeds forecasts
[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia’s external trade expanded at a quicker pace in February, achieving nearly double-digit growth, driven by higher exports of petroleum and liquefied natural gas (LNG) products.
The latest external trade figure, which was released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia on Monday (Mar 20), exceeded the projection of 4.5 per cent by 13 economists in a Reuters poll earlier.
Malaysia’s exports in February increased nearly 9.8 per cent year on year to RM112.3 billion (S$33.6 billion) in February, thanks to double-digit growth in the exports of refined petroleum (73.6 per cent), LNG (32.9 per cent) and electrical and electronic products (11.7 per cent). Business Times
----------
Industry players: Domestic gas market's development needs to be intensified
KUALA LUMPUR: The natural gas market is expected to remain tight this year as Russia further tightens supplies to Europe amid sanctions imposed against the world's second-largest producer of natural gas following its invasion of Ukraine early last year.
The supply restriction has pushed international gas prices to new highs, disrupted trade flows, and led to distressing fuel shortages in some emerging and developing economies, with market tightness expected to persist this year, said the International Energy Agency (IEA).
In its quarterly Gas Market Report released in Oct last year, the IEA forecast global gas consumption would grow by only 0.4 per cent this year, but added that the outlook is subject to a high level of uncertainty, particularly in terms of Russia's future actions and the economic impacts of sustained high energy prices.
Deleum Bhd group chief executive officer, Rao Abdullah said the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war would have an impact on the gas market as many countries have pledged to end or severely cut back their oil and gas imports. New Straits Times
----------
Malaysia's forest coverage could fall to 47.35%. RimbaWatch urges government to expand on its 50% forest cover commitment
PETALING JAYA: An area 100 times the size of Kuala Lumpur has been earmarked for deforestation, according to a landmark study carried out by an environmental group.
RimbaWatch, formerly known as Rimba Disclosure Project, has released the results of the study titled “State of the Malaysian Rainforest 2023” in which it collated and analysed data on past and potential future deforestation.
RimbaWatch first analysed deforestation activity based on Global Forest Watch’s (GFW) tree cover loss data to estimate that between 2017 and 2021, Malaysia had deforested 349,244 hectares, with Sarawak and Pahang experiencing the highest rates of deforestation.
Using data collected from official forestry maps, forest reserve degazettements, project descriptions, approved forest-risk environmental impact assessments (EIA) and other platforms, RimbaWatch then analysed 438 alerts concerning areas at risk of deforestation in the future through the zoning of forested land for non-forest usage and real estate listings of forested land. Free Malaysia Today
Huge untapped potentials in Malaysia-Turkiye’s trade, investment
Malaysia is Turkiye’s largest trading partner in Asean with total trade of RM20.6b in 2022, a growth of 35% from 2021
THERE is a huge untapped potential in trade and investment between Turkiye and Malaysia.
Turkiye Ambassador to Malaysia Emir Salim Yuksel said Malaysia is Turkiye’s largest trading partner in Asean with total trade of US$4.7 billion (RM20.59 billion) in 2022, a growth of 35% from 2021.
He said different sectors of Turkish and Malaysian economies interacted, operated and complemented each other, ranging from outer space to the construction business.
“We have elevated our partnership last July from strategic partnership to compressive studies, which means that we have to deepen our relationships, every item and every subject,” he told Bernama at the sideline of the Turkish-Malaysian Trade Delegation Kuala Lumpur 2023 and Business-to-Business (B2B) Meetings event on March 13.
Malaysia and Turkiye signed the Free Trade Agreement (MTFTA), which came into effect on Aug 1, 2015. The Malaysian Reserve
----------
Petroleum, LNG products boost Malaysia’s February exports; nearly 10% growth exceeds forecasts
[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia’s external trade expanded at a quicker pace in February, achieving nearly double-digit growth, driven by higher exports of petroleum and liquefied natural gas (LNG) products.
The latest external trade figure, which was released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia on Monday (Mar 20), exceeded the projection of 4.5 per cent by 13 economists in a Reuters poll earlier.
Malaysia’s exports in February increased nearly 9.8 per cent year on year to RM112.3 billion (S$33.6 billion) in February, thanks to double-digit growth in the exports of refined petroleum (73.6 per cent), LNG (32.9 per cent) and electrical and electronic products (11.7 per cent). Business Times
----------
Industry players: Domestic gas market's development needs to be intensified
KUALA LUMPUR: The natural gas market is expected to remain tight this year as Russia further tightens supplies to Europe amid sanctions imposed against the world's second-largest producer of natural gas following its invasion of Ukraine early last year.
The supply restriction has pushed international gas prices to new highs, disrupted trade flows, and led to distressing fuel shortages in some emerging and developing economies, with market tightness expected to persist this year, said the International Energy Agency (IEA).
In its quarterly Gas Market Report released in Oct last year, the IEA forecast global gas consumption would grow by only 0.4 per cent this year, but added that the outlook is subject to a high level of uncertainty, particularly in terms of Russia's future actions and the economic impacts of sustained high energy prices.
Deleum Bhd group chief executive officer, Rao Abdullah said the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war would have an impact on the gas market as many countries have pledged to end or severely cut back their oil and gas imports. New Straits Times
----------
Malaysia's forest coverage could fall to 47.35%. RimbaWatch urges government to expand on its 50% forest cover commitment
PETALING JAYA: An area 100 times the size of Kuala Lumpur has been earmarked for deforestation, according to a landmark study carried out by an environmental group.
RimbaWatch, formerly known as Rimba Disclosure Project, has released the results of the study titled “State of the Malaysian Rainforest 2023” in which it collated and analysed data on past and potential future deforestation.
RimbaWatch first analysed deforestation activity based on Global Forest Watch’s (GFW) tree cover loss data to estimate that between 2017 and 2021, Malaysia had deforested 349,244 hectares, with Sarawak and Pahang experiencing the highest rates of deforestation.
Using data collected from official forestry maps, forest reserve degazettements, project descriptions, approved forest-risk environmental impact assessments (EIA) and other platforms, RimbaWatch then analysed 438 alerts concerning areas at risk of deforestation in the future through the zoning of forested land for non-forest usage and real estate listings of forested land. Free Malaysia Today
|
|
|
March 18, 2023
Malaysian Official Says EU Regulation ‘Discrimination’ Against Small Farmers
The regulation, which could severely limit the country’s palm oil exports to European nations, has been strongly opposed by Kuala Lumpur.
A senior Malaysian official has again criticized the recently passed European Union regulation on deforestation, claiming that it amounts to “discrimination” against small-scale producers of palm oil.
In a statement yesterday, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof called for smallholders to be exempted from the EU’s Deforestation-Free Products Regulation, which requires palm oil producers to prove that their supply chains are not contributing to deforestation.
“Small farmers depend on the export of palm oil, rubber, and other agricultural commodities to support their families,” Fadillah said in the statement, according to the New Straits Times. “The deforestation regulation presents a significant stumbling block for them to access the European market, the ultimate outcome of which would be to increase poverty, reduce household incomes and harm our rural communities.”
He added, “These actions are unjust and stand in stark contrast to the EU’s commitments outlined in the United Nations sustainable development goals.” The Diplomat
----------
Rapeseed oil is cheaper than palm oil for the first time in 25 years as supply glut intensifies
The Mintec Benchmark Prices [MBP] for Rapeseed Oil FOB Rotterdam [Mintec Code: RSOR] was assessed at €929.50/mt on 16th March, the lowest level since January 2021 and remarkably lower than the Crude Palm Oil CIF Rotterdam price, which was assessed at €951/mt. This is the first time in 25 years that rapeseed oil is priced at a discount to palm oil, which is typically the cheapest oil among the four main oils (rapeseed, palm, sunflower and soybean oils). Palm oil prices also typically act as a reference point for market players to make decisions on substitution among the main oils.
The glut has occurred due to EU crushers purchasing large amounts of rapeseed from Ukraine, with over 50% of Ukraine’s total rapeseed exports entering the EU processing chain. The purchasing has occurred at reduced prices compared to the rest of the market, ensuring a healthy crush margin and encouraging significant levels of crush in recent months. At the same time as large volumes of rapeseed are entering the EU, demand for rapeseed oil is poor from both a food sector and biodiesel standpoint which make up nearly all the addressable demand, because many food manufacturers purchased rapeseed oil as an alternative to sunflower oil. When the Russia/Ukraine conflict started, many food manufacturers had concerns about the ability to obtain sunflower oil from Russia and Ukraine, the two countries that dominate the production and export of the material. Therefore, players in both these sectors have high levels of coverage until H2 2023, meaning that far fewer players are hand-to-mouth than there were in some parts of 2022, making it unlikely that large purchases will take place in the nearby months, or even near forward months. Mintec Global
---------
Environmental auditors approve green labels for products linked to deforestation and authoritarian regimes
A new ICIJ-led cross-border investigation exposes how a lightly regulated sustainability industry overlooks forest destruction and human rights violations when granting environmental certifications.
Major environmental auditing firms ignore or fail to recognize glaring environmental damage caused by loggers and other clients whose practices they certify as sustainable, undercutting an elaborate global system meant to fight forest destruction and climate change.
With alarming frequency, the auditors and so-called certification firms validate products linked to deforestation, logging in conflict zones and other abuses, according to an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and 39 media partners. Certification helps the firms’ clients produce and promote teak yacht decks, high-end furniture and other products in markets all around the world.
The ICIJ investigation, Deforestation Inc., showed how companies use the results of flawed audits to advertise products and operations as compliant with environmental standards, labor laws and human rights, misinforming shareholders as well as customers. The damage can be devastating and long-lasting.
“A felled tree cannot be replaced in a man’s lifetime,” said a French prosecutor in a recent case involving a Spanish logging firm that had illegally cut down century-old oaks and other trees in privately owned forests in Southern France. ICIJ
Malaysian Official Says EU Regulation ‘Discrimination’ Against Small Farmers
The regulation, which could severely limit the country’s palm oil exports to European nations, has been strongly opposed by Kuala Lumpur.
A senior Malaysian official has again criticized the recently passed European Union regulation on deforestation, claiming that it amounts to “discrimination” against small-scale producers of palm oil.
In a statement yesterday, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof called for smallholders to be exempted from the EU’s Deforestation-Free Products Regulation, which requires palm oil producers to prove that their supply chains are not contributing to deforestation.
“Small farmers depend on the export of palm oil, rubber, and other agricultural commodities to support their families,” Fadillah said in the statement, according to the New Straits Times. “The deforestation regulation presents a significant stumbling block for them to access the European market, the ultimate outcome of which would be to increase poverty, reduce household incomes and harm our rural communities.”
He added, “These actions are unjust and stand in stark contrast to the EU’s commitments outlined in the United Nations sustainable development goals.” The Diplomat
----------
Rapeseed oil is cheaper than palm oil for the first time in 25 years as supply glut intensifies
The Mintec Benchmark Prices [MBP] for Rapeseed Oil FOB Rotterdam [Mintec Code: RSOR] was assessed at €929.50/mt on 16th March, the lowest level since January 2021 and remarkably lower than the Crude Palm Oil CIF Rotterdam price, which was assessed at €951/mt. This is the first time in 25 years that rapeseed oil is priced at a discount to palm oil, which is typically the cheapest oil among the four main oils (rapeseed, palm, sunflower and soybean oils). Palm oil prices also typically act as a reference point for market players to make decisions on substitution among the main oils.
The glut has occurred due to EU crushers purchasing large amounts of rapeseed from Ukraine, with over 50% of Ukraine’s total rapeseed exports entering the EU processing chain. The purchasing has occurred at reduced prices compared to the rest of the market, ensuring a healthy crush margin and encouraging significant levels of crush in recent months. At the same time as large volumes of rapeseed are entering the EU, demand for rapeseed oil is poor from both a food sector and biodiesel standpoint which make up nearly all the addressable demand, because many food manufacturers purchased rapeseed oil as an alternative to sunflower oil. When the Russia/Ukraine conflict started, many food manufacturers had concerns about the ability to obtain sunflower oil from Russia and Ukraine, the two countries that dominate the production and export of the material. Therefore, players in both these sectors have high levels of coverage until H2 2023, meaning that far fewer players are hand-to-mouth than there were in some parts of 2022, making it unlikely that large purchases will take place in the nearby months, or even near forward months. Mintec Global
---------
Environmental auditors approve green labels for products linked to deforestation and authoritarian regimes
A new ICIJ-led cross-border investigation exposes how a lightly regulated sustainability industry overlooks forest destruction and human rights violations when granting environmental certifications.
Major environmental auditing firms ignore or fail to recognize glaring environmental damage caused by loggers and other clients whose practices they certify as sustainable, undercutting an elaborate global system meant to fight forest destruction and climate change.
With alarming frequency, the auditors and so-called certification firms validate products linked to deforestation, logging in conflict zones and other abuses, according to an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and 39 media partners. Certification helps the firms’ clients produce and promote teak yacht decks, high-end furniture and other products in markets all around the world.
The ICIJ investigation, Deforestation Inc., showed how companies use the results of flawed audits to advertise products and operations as compliant with environmental standards, labor laws and human rights, misinforming shareholders as well as customers. The damage can be devastating and long-lasting.
“A felled tree cannot be replaced in a man’s lifetime,” said a French prosecutor in a recent case involving a Spanish logging firm that had illegally cut down century-old oaks and other trees in privately owned forests in Southern France. ICIJ
|
|
|
March 17, 2023
Rich nations are not looking good in the palm-oil dispute
Indonesia and Malaysia have a point in criticising tariffs that penalise sustainable producers
There is perturbation among green campaigners. The Financial Times revealed this week that the UK is planning to eliminate its tariffs on Malaysian palm oil as the price of entering the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, the jewel in Britain’s otherwise unimpressive post-Brexit crown of trade agreements.
Palm oil, which is used as a biofuel and the World Wildlife Fund estimates is also found in about half of all rich-world supermarket packaged products, has become a test for rewriting the world trading regime to protect the environment. The experiment is not producing encouraging results. Rich-world governments, particularly the EU, are struggling to create green trade-related regulations that are predictable, effective and comply with international law.
Palm oil shot to fame, or notoriety, when it featured in a viral Greenpeace campaign starring Rang-tan, a cartoon orangutan whose forest habitat was destroyed by palm oil plantations. The oil and its derivative products now encounter multiple rich-world consumer and corporate boycotts and official restrictions. The EU has already in effect prevented imports of palm oil for biofuels under its renewable energy directive, and is bringing in a tough new deforestation law targeting the product along with cattle, soy, coffee, cocoa, timber and rubber.
For Indonesia and Malaysia, the world’s two main palm oil producers and both former European imperial possessions, this is rich-world neocolonialism destroying the livelihoods of smallholders. The videoed annual statement of the Indonesian ministry of foreign affairs featured a brief scene of a jackboot marked “EU” trampling a palm oil plantation. Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur have already launched World Trade Organization cases against Brussels over the renewable energy directive, and the issue has jeopardised trade deals the EU is trying to sign in south-east Asia. FT
----------
Deforestation Policy, Europe Closes Negotiation Space Against Indonesian Palm Oil The European Union states that the deforestation policy towards imported plantation and agricultural commodities cannot be contested
Bisnis.com , JAKARTA - The European Union remains adamant in maintaining the Deforestation-free Commodities (DR) regulations which have been implemented since December 2022. Through this policy, Europe requires that plantation and agricultural commodities coming from other countries are free from deforestation practices. The general chairman of the Association of Palm Oil Growers (Apkasindo) Gulat Manurung revealed that a closed meeting at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs (Kemenko Per Ekonomi) which was initiated by the European Union delegation on Wednesday (15/3/2023), did not yield much benefit. This is because the European Union delegation is very confident that their decision is final, aka it cannot be contested. "I see that they have not stepped back an inch and this is evident from the statement of one of the European Union delegates who said 'there is no negotiation regarding EU Deforestation-free Commodities, and if we comply, we will open our market," said Gulat to Bisnis , Thursday (16/3/2023).
Bisnis.com
----------
EU deforestation law risks making sustainable palm oil certification irrelevant, says Wilmar
Palm oil players are required to prove that their products are deforestation-free beyond the standards of current certification schemes, says a Wilmar International representative. It might lead to these schemes losing their relevance.
Sustainability certification schemes for palm oil risk becoming irrelevant if they do not respond to industry developments such as the European Union’s new anti-deforestation law, said a leading grower.
“If people are being told that [voluntary certification schemes] are not going to help you meet regulatory requirements, then they are going to drop it,” said Perpetua George, general manager for sustainability at Wilmar International, one of the world’s largest oil palm companies, at a recent industry conference in Malaysia.
Speaking to Eco-Business, George explained that the EU deforestation-free regulation has forced palm oil players to implement traceability systems that go beyond what is now required by certification schemes, especially voluntary ones like certification scheme Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which has 5,000 members as of 2021. Other voluntary palm oil sustainability certification schemes include the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification. Eco Business
----------
Indonesia pledges policy transparency with new palm oil exchange
JAKARTA, March 17 (Reuters) - Indonesia's plan to channel crude palm oil (CPO) exports via a futures exchange would improve policymaking in the top producer and avoid a need for the type of export ban that sent shockwaves through global markets last year, its chief regulator said.
Authorities aim to require all CPO exports to go through a futures exchange starting from June in order to create Indonesia's own benchmark price, similar to benchmarks in exchanges in Kuala Lumpur and Rotterdam. Currently, nearly all CPO shipments from Indonesia are directly conducted with buyers.
The plan came after Indonesia shocked global markets last year with what appeared at times to be haphazard policy-making, culminating in a three-week export ban, as officials tried to alleviate a local shortage of cooking oil.
"The main goal of having an exchange is transparency and good governance. When it is transparent, the government can utilise the data for policy-making," Didid Noordiatmoko, head of commodity futures regulator Bappebti said in an interview this week. Marketscreener/ REUTERS
----------
PepsiCo asks suppliers to avoid buying palm oil from major producer in Indonesia
The food and beverage giant cut ties with Astra Agro Lestari, which has faced allegations of land grabbing and human rights abuses.
PepsiCo is among the latest consumer goods companies to ban palm oil from Indonesia-based conglomerate Astra Agro Lestari in its supply chain.
AAL, which owns palm oil plantations in Indonesia, was accused last year of human rights abuses and land grabbing.
In an open letter, the International Federation for Human Rights asked several major consumer goods companies, including PepsiCo, to cut AAL from their supply chains over its “sustained role in forcibly grabbing communities’ land, contributing to environmental destruction, negatively impacting communities’ livelihoods, and criminalizing land and environmental human rights defenders.”
Other companies addressed in the letter include Hershey’s, Kellogg, Unilever, Nestlé and Procter & Gamble. Supply Chain Drive
Rich nations are not looking good in the palm-oil dispute
Indonesia and Malaysia have a point in criticising tariffs that penalise sustainable producers
There is perturbation among green campaigners. The Financial Times revealed this week that the UK is planning to eliminate its tariffs on Malaysian palm oil as the price of entering the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, the jewel in Britain’s otherwise unimpressive post-Brexit crown of trade agreements.
Palm oil, which is used as a biofuel and the World Wildlife Fund estimates is also found in about half of all rich-world supermarket packaged products, has become a test for rewriting the world trading regime to protect the environment. The experiment is not producing encouraging results. Rich-world governments, particularly the EU, are struggling to create green trade-related regulations that are predictable, effective and comply with international law.
Palm oil shot to fame, or notoriety, when it featured in a viral Greenpeace campaign starring Rang-tan, a cartoon orangutan whose forest habitat was destroyed by palm oil plantations. The oil and its derivative products now encounter multiple rich-world consumer and corporate boycotts and official restrictions. The EU has already in effect prevented imports of palm oil for biofuels under its renewable energy directive, and is bringing in a tough new deforestation law targeting the product along with cattle, soy, coffee, cocoa, timber and rubber.
For Indonesia and Malaysia, the world’s two main palm oil producers and both former European imperial possessions, this is rich-world neocolonialism destroying the livelihoods of smallholders. The videoed annual statement of the Indonesian ministry of foreign affairs featured a brief scene of a jackboot marked “EU” trampling a palm oil plantation. Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur have already launched World Trade Organization cases against Brussels over the renewable energy directive, and the issue has jeopardised trade deals the EU is trying to sign in south-east Asia. FT
----------
Deforestation Policy, Europe Closes Negotiation Space Against Indonesian Palm Oil The European Union states that the deforestation policy towards imported plantation and agricultural commodities cannot be contested
Bisnis.com , JAKARTA - The European Union remains adamant in maintaining the Deforestation-free Commodities (DR) regulations which have been implemented since December 2022. Through this policy, Europe requires that plantation and agricultural commodities coming from other countries are free from deforestation practices. The general chairman of the Association of Palm Oil Growers (Apkasindo) Gulat Manurung revealed that a closed meeting at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs (Kemenko Per Ekonomi) which was initiated by the European Union delegation on Wednesday (15/3/2023), did not yield much benefit. This is because the European Union delegation is very confident that their decision is final, aka it cannot be contested. "I see that they have not stepped back an inch and this is evident from the statement of one of the European Union delegates who said 'there is no negotiation regarding EU Deforestation-free Commodities, and if we comply, we will open our market," said Gulat to Bisnis , Thursday (16/3/2023).
Bisnis.com
----------
EU deforestation law risks making sustainable palm oil certification irrelevant, says Wilmar
Palm oil players are required to prove that their products are deforestation-free beyond the standards of current certification schemes, says a Wilmar International representative. It might lead to these schemes losing their relevance.
Sustainability certification schemes for palm oil risk becoming irrelevant if they do not respond to industry developments such as the European Union’s new anti-deforestation law, said a leading grower.
“If people are being told that [voluntary certification schemes] are not going to help you meet regulatory requirements, then they are going to drop it,” said Perpetua George, general manager for sustainability at Wilmar International, one of the world’s largest oil palm companies, at a recent industry conference in Malaysia.
Speaking to Eco-Business, George explained that the EU deforestation-free regulation has forced palm oil players to implement traceability systems that go beyond what is now required by certification schemes, especially voluntary ones like certification scheme Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which has 5,000 members as of 2021. Other voluntary palm oil sustainability certification schemes include the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification. Eco Business
----------
Indonesia pledges policy transparency with new palm oil exchange
JAKARTA, March 17 (Reuters) - Indonesia's plan to channel crude palm oil (CPO) exports via a futures exchange would improve policymaking in the top producer and avoid a need for the type of export ban that sent shockwaves through global markets last year, its chief regulator said.
Authorities aim to require all CPO exports to go through a futures exchange starting from June in order to create Indonesia's own benchmark price, similar to benchmarks in exchanges in Kuala Lumpur and Rotterdam. Currently, nearly all CPO shipments from Indonesia are directly conducted with buyers.
The plan came after Indonesia shocked global markets last year with what appeared at times to be haphazard policy-making, culminating in a three-week export ban, as officials tried to alleviate a local shortage of cooking oil.
"The main goal of having an exchange is transparency and good governance. When it is transparent, the government can utilise the data for policy-making," Didid Noordiatmoko, head of commodity futures regulator Bappebti said in an interview this week. Marketscreener/ REUTERS
----------
PepsiCo asks suppliers to avoid buying palm oil from major producer in Indonesia
The food and beverage giant cut ties with Astra Agro Lestari, which has faced allegations of land grabbing and human rights abuses.
PepsiCo is among the latest consumer goods companies to ban palm oil from Indonesia-based conglomerate Astra Agro Lestari in its supply chain.
AAL, which owns palm oil plantations in Indonesia, was accused last year of human rights abuses and land grabbing.
In an open letter, the International Federation for Human Rights asked several major consumer goods companies, including PepsiCo, to cut AAL from their supply chains over its “sustained role in forcibly grabbing communities’ land, contributing to environmental destruction, negatively impacting communities’ livelihoods, and criminalizing land and environmental human rights defenders.”
Other companies addressed in the letter include Hershey’s, Kellogg, Unilever, Nestlé and Procter & Gamble. Supply Chain Drive
|
|
|
March 16, 2023
Malaysia palm oil, rubber farmers file EU petition opposing deforestation law
Malaysian palm oil and rubber smallholders have filed a petition to the European Union to protest against a new law preventing imports into the bloc of commodities linked to deforestation risks.
The EU in December agreed on a deforestation law that requires companies to produce a due diligence statement showing when and where their commodities were produced and provide "verifiable" information that they were not grown on land deforested after 2020, or risk hefty fines.
"The regulation's unilateral and unrealistic demands on traceability and geolocation will prevent small farmers from accessing the European market," a group of six smallholder associations said in a joint statement.
Indonesia and Malaysia, the world's largest palm oil exporters, have accused the EU of blocking market access for their palm oil.
Deforestation Law
Malaysia's Commodities Ministry told parliament it plans to spend 10 million ringgit in 2023 to counter what they call an anti-palm oil campaign, and is seeking an additional 10 million ringgit. ESM/ Reuters
---------
Eco campaigners go ape over UK’s latest Brexit deal
UK preparing to lift tariffs on palm oil from Malaysia as price for joinging CPTPP trade agreement
Britain is preparing to sign off on a post-Brexit trade deal that campaigners say will encourage further destruction of nature, threaten the habitat of orangutans in Malaysia and make a mockery of the government’s claims of being committed to tackling deforestation abroad.
UK negotiators are finalising terms of entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – an agreement that the government has long held up as an example of the country’s ability to trade globally after leaving the European Union.
Ministers will reportedly sacrifice import tariffs on palm oil from Malaysia, a product blamed for widespread deforestation, as a price for joining the 21-member regional trade agreement, following two years of negotiations. Independent UK
----------
UK trade deal in Asia-Pacific to see palm oil import tariffs slashed -media
Carbon Pulse
Malaysia palm oil, rubber farmers file EU petition opposing deforestation law
Malaysian palm oil and rubber smallholders have filed a petition to the European Union to protest against a new law preventing imports into the bloc of commodities linked to deforestation risks.
The EU in December agreed on a deforestation law that requires companies to produce a due diligence statement showing when and where their commodities were produced and provide "verifiable" information that they were not grown on land deforested after 2020, or risk hefty fines.
"The regulation's unilateral and unrealistic demands on traceability and geolocation will prevent small farmers from accessing the European market," a group of six smallholder associations said in a joint statement.
Indonesia and Malaysia, the world's largest palm oil exporters, have accused the EU of blocking market access for their palm oil.
Deforestation Law
Malaysia's Commodities Ministry told parliament it plans to spend 10 million ringgit in 2023 to counter what they call an anti-palm oil campaign, and is seeking an additional 10 million ringgit. ESM/ Reuters
---------
Eco campaigners go ape over UK’s latest Brexit deal
UK preparing to lift tariffs on palm oil from Malaysia as price for joinging CPTPP trade agreement
Britain is preparing to sign off on a post-Brexit trade deal that campaigners say will encourage further destruction of nature, threaten the habitat of orangutans in Malaysia and make a mockery of the government’s claims of being committed to tackling deforestation abroad.
UK negotiators are finalising terms of entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – an agreement that the government has long held up as an example of the country’s ability to trade globally after leaving the European Union.
Ministers will reportedly sacrifice import tariffs on palm oil from Malaysia, a product blamed for widespread deforestation, as a price for joining the 21-member regional trade agreement, following two years of negotiations. Independent UK
----------
UK trade deal in Asia-Pacific to see palm oil import tariffs slashed -media
Carbon Pulse
|
|
|
March 15, 2023
UK poised to remove import tariffs on Malaysian palm oil
Britain’s move to cut duties as it seeks entry to CPTPP trade deal sparks concern among green groups
The UK government is planning to eliminate import tariffs on palm oil from Malaysia, a product blamed for widespread deforestation, as the price of joining an Asia-Pacific trade deal, according to people involved in the talks, prompting outrage from green campaigners.
Britain is finalising entry terms to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), an 11-member regional trade agreement, after two years of negotiations.
Malaysia, one of the pact’s members, has successfully demanded Britain cut its palm oil tariffs — which currently range up to 12 per cent — to nil immediately on entering the pact, said people familiar with the talks. Financial Times
-------------
Malaysian smallholders urge EU to review deforestation-free regulation
KUALA LUMPUR: More than 500 smallholders in the country signed a petition as a joint stance to urge the European Union (EU) to review the European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR) that is deemed discriminatory.
The petition was sent to the delegation of the European Union to Malaysia by six representatives of the palm oil sector namely the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), the National Association of Smallholders Malaysia (PKPKM) and Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (SALCRA).
Also included are Sarawak Dayak Oil Palm Planters Association (DOPPA), Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (FELCRA) and Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (RISDA).
The petition among others sought the EU endorsement of the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) and remove Malaysia from the list of countries at risk if the EUDR is implemented.
Deputy president PKPKM Adzmi Hassan (pix) said Malaysia has an excellent record in forest protection and sustainable production. The Sun Daily
----------
Fadillah: HRDD to boost Malaysia as preferred destination for migrant workers
KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) is a key tool to support responsible business practices and ensure Malaysia is a preferred destination for migrant workers and the palm oil industry, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
Fadillah, who is also the Plantation and Commodities Minister, said HRDD should not be seen as a burden but rather as an advantage for businesses.
“It allows Malaysian businesses to lead by example, enhance their resilience and secure the exportability of their products globally while setting in place strong systems to anticipate market disruptions in times of crisis,” he said in his opening remarks of the People Positive Palm (P3) project workshop here today.
The P3 Project workshop today organised by the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), Human Rights Coalition (HRC), Fair Labour Association (FLA) and International Organisation on Migration (IOM) focuses on HRDD.
Fadillah said HRDD has been embedded in the legislations of certain countries, to which Malaysian businesses export their goods. The Sun Daily
----------
PepsiCo, Friesland Campina instruct palm oil suppliers to halt business with Indonesian firm
Indonesia’s Astra Agro Lestari called out by Friends of the Earth for “land grabbing”
ood giants PepsiCo and FrieslandCampina have urged suppliers to stop sourcing palm oil from Indonesia’s Astra Agro Lestari.
The US and Dutch firms’ decisions are linked to a report in March last year from Friends of the Earth and its NGO peer The Indonesian Forum for Environment (Wahli) claiming abuse of power by Astra Agro Lestari (AAL) in Central and West Sulawesi.
“AAL has faced mounting pressure over the past year after a report published in March 2022 by Walhi and Friends of the Earth US documented how AAL subsidiaries were operating on communities’ land without their consent and criminalising local farmers and environmental human rights defenders,” the US-headquartered NGO wrote in a statement last week acknowledging the actions by PepsiCo and FrieslandCampina.
Uli Arta Siagian, a forest and plantation campaigner at Wahli, added: “These suspensions prove that AAL’s destructive practices aren’t going unnoticed. AAL should read the writing on the wall and return land back to communities that was taken without their consent. AAL must also provide compensation for loss of livelihoods, clear the good names of those who have been unjustly criminalised, and issue an apology for its abuses.” Just Food
UK poised to remove import tariffs on Malaysian palm oil
Britain’s move to cut duties as it seeks entry to CPTPP trade deal sparks concern among green groups
The UK government is planning to eliminate import tariffs on palm oil from Malaysia, a product blamed for widespread deforestation, as the price of joining an Asia-Pacific trade deal, according to people involved in the talks, prompting outrage from green campaigners.
Britain is finalising entry terms to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), an 11-member regional trade agreement, after two years of negotiations.
Malaysia, one of the pact’s members, has successfully demanded Britain cut its palm oil tariffs — which currently range up to 12 per cent — to nil immediately on entering the pact, said people familiar with the talks. Financial Times
-------------
Malaysian smallholders urge EU to review deforestation-free regulation
KUALA LUMPUR: More than 500 smallholders in the country signed a petition as a joint stance to urge the European Union (EU) to review the European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR) that is deemed discriminatory.
The petition was sent to the delegation of the European Union to Malaysia by six representatives of the palm oil sector namely the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), the National Association of Smallholders Malaysia (PKPKM) and Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (SALCRA).
Also included are Sarawak Dayak Oil Palm Planters Association (DOPPA), Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (FELCRA) and Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (RISDA).
The petition among others sought the EU endorsement of the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) and remove Malaysia from the list of countries at risk if the EUDR is implemented.
Deputy president PKPKM Adzmi Hassan (pix) said Malaysia has an excellent record in forest protection and sustainable production. The Sun Daily
----------
Fadillah: HRDD to boost Malaysia as preferred destination for migrant workers
KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) is a key tool to support responsible business practices and ensure Malaysia is a preferred destination for migrant workers and the palm oil industry, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
Fadillah, who is also the Plantation and Commodities Minister, said HRDD should not be seen as a burden but rather as an advantage for businesses.
“It allows Malaysian businesses to lead by example, enhance their resilience and secure the exportability of their products globally while setting in place strong systems to anticipate market disruptions in times of crisis,” he said in his opening remarks of the People Positive Palm (P3) project workshop here today.
The P3 Project workshop today organised by the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), Human Rights Coalition (HRC), Fair Labour Association (FLA) and International Organisation on Migration (IOM) focuses on HRDD.
Fadillah said HRDD has been embedded in the legislations of certain countries, to which Malaysian businesses export their goods. The Sun Daily
----------
PepsiCo, Friesland Campina instruct palm oil suppliers to halt business with Indonesian firm
Indonesia’s Astra Agro Lestari called out by Friends of the Earth for “land grabbing”
ood giants PepsiCo and FrieslandCampina have urged suppliers to stop sourcing palm oil from Indonesia’s Astra Agro Lestari.
The US and Dutch firms’ decisions are linked to a report in March last year from Friends of the Earth and its NGO peer The Indonesian Forum for Environment (Wahli) claiming abuse of power by Astra Agro Lestari (AAL) in Central and West Sulawesi.
“AAL has faced mounting pressure over the past year after a report published in March 2022 by Walhi and Friends of the Earth US documented how AAL subsidiaries were operating on communities’ land without their consent and criminalising local farmers and environmental human rights defenders,” the US-headquartered NGO wrote in a statement last week acknowledging the actions by PepsiCo and FrieslandCampina.
Uli Arta Siagian, a forest and plantation campaigner at Wahli, added: “These suspensions prove that AAL’s destructive practices aren’t going unnoticed. AAL should read the writing on the wall and return land back to communities that was taken without their consent. AAL must also provide compensation for loss of livelihoods, clear the good names of those who have been unjustly criminalised, and issue an apology for its abuses.” Just Food
|
|
|
March 14, 2023
Malaysia, Indonesia to meet European countries to explain palm oil industry standards and practices
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Indonesia will meet with their European counterparts in May to explain the standards and practices of the palm oil industry.
Deputy Prime Minister and Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said he will be working closely with Indonesia's coordinating minister for economic affairs, Airlangga Hartarto.
"We will have a session with them to explain what are the practices in Malaysia and Indonesia, the standards we have developed, to what extent our compliances are and what else we can do so that we can meet at the middle ground.
"It will be a win-win for the world as everybody is looking into the aspects of environment and human rights, and so is Malaysia. New Straits Times
----------
Human Rights Coalition Hosts Human Rights Due Diligence Workshop in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR and PARIS, 14th March 2023 – In collaboration with the Malaysian Ministry of Plantation and Commodities, The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) Human Rights Coalition (HRC) today hosted a practical workshop for Malaysian palm oil companies on best practices for implementing a pragmatic business approach to human rights due diligence (HRDD). The workshop was the first held in a learning series hosted by the HRC’s People Positive Palm Project (P3 Project), jointly implemented by the Fair Labor Association (FLA) and the International Organization for Migration, which aims to leverage collective action and eradicate forced labour from the Malaysian palm oil industry.
The workshop was opened by YAB Dato’ Sri Haji Fadillah Yusof, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, and Minister of Plantation and Commodities. In his remarks, he expressed support for the P3 Project as a key initiative for driving business innovation in Malaysia by helping suppliers to enhance their productivity and resilience in the face of global challenges, secure product exportability, and increase attractiveness for investors. By increasing Workers’ wellbeing, the Malaysian palm industry can lead a regional and sectoral transformation towards people positive business practices, ultimately making Malaysia a trendsetter on practical and effective approaches to HRDD. He also highlighted the need for continued private-public sector collaboration to address the systemic challenges facing the industry. The Consumer Goods Forum
----------
Palm oil industry should use HRDD as a tool for responsible business practices, says DPM Fadillah
KUALA LUMPUR: Companies in the palm oil sector should adopt the concept of Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD), which is a key tool to support business practices and enhance businesses' positive impact.
Deputy Prime Minister and Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said HRDD would ensure Malaysia was a preferred destination for migrant workers and the palm oil industry.
HRDD is defined as a risk management tool for organisations to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for how they address actual and potential adverse human rights impacts in their operations, supply chains and business relations.
Fadillah said the palm oil industry in Malaysia had the potential to be a trendsetter for other industry transformations in the region and globally, and therefore, HRDD should not be deemed a burden. New Straits Times
----------
Deforestation Inc. reporters checked global promises to end forest loss. This is what they found
From Europe to Asia to North America, even as leaders and governments made new sustainability pledges, authorities were failing on a number of key forest protection measures.
In late 2021 nearly 140 world leaders gathering at the United Nations climate talks in Glasgow pledged to end forest loss and land degradation by 2030. With the exception of notable abstainers such as India ー one of the world’s most forest-rich countries ー the politicians acknowledged crucial measures to combat the climate crisis: forest conservation, policies that promote sustainable development, and the empowerment of communities that are the stewards of forestlands worldwide.
This month, 140 reporters from 27 countries took part in Deforestation Inc., a cross-border investigation led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. They found that some nations are falling well short of achieving those stated ambitions. According to a 2022 study by a coalition of civil society organizations under the name of Forest Declaration Assessment, “[d]espite encouraging signs, not a single global indicator is on track to meet these 2030 goals.”
New laws, old problems in Europe
As one of the world’s largest consumers of wood, palm oil and other commodities associated with forest loss, the European Union is responsible for about 10% of global forest destruction. Last year, the bloc passed a new regulation to combat deforestation. Starting from 2024, it will require every company trading, exporting or importing timber and six other commodities to check and prove that the products are not linked to harmful forest practices. ICIJ
----------
Palm oil major quits no-deforestation initiative HCSA: A commitment to efficiency or a ‘dangerous sign of backsliding’?
Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) has been slammed by environmental campaigners for renouncing its HCSA membership. According to the palm oil major, the move represents a commitment to ‘doubling down on what’s working’. Food Navigator
----------
Food industry urged to pull out of damaging palm oil deals and sharpen responsible purchasing
13 Mar 2023 --- Creating a sustainable palm oil industry that distances itself from harmful human rights breaches, damaging environmental impacts like contributing to deforestation and other illegal practices such as land grabbing are once again in the spotlight as key players pull out of deals with Astra Agro Lestari (AAL).
Food companies are scrutinizing the origins of their palm oil supplies as the second largest palm oil plantation in Indonesia, AAL, has been accused by environmental group Friends of the Earth of illegal land grabbing and harming local waterways and forests.
FrieslandCampina conducted its own investigation on AAL practices and its findings led the company to halt sourcing materials from them.
“Responsible purchasing with respect for the environment, biodiversity and human rights is important to us. In October 2022 we received critical questions from an NGO. This motivated us to conduct further investigation. Based on the findings, we asked our supplier to no longer source materials from this plantation,” a FrieslandCampina spokesperson tells FoodIngredienstFirst.
FrieslandCampina’s move to pull out comes on the heels of Nestlé’s recent decision to stop sourcing from the three subsidiaries of AAL accused of land abuses. The Swiss food giant made the decision following an independent assessment.
Other companies that have cut ties with AAL include Hershey, Procter & Gamble and Colgate. Food Ingredients First
Malaysia, Indonesia to meet European countries to explain palm oil industry standards and practices
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Indonesia will meet with their European counterparts in May to explain the standards and practices of the palm oil industry.
Deputy Prime Minister and Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said he will be working closely with Indonesia's coordinating minister for economic affairs, Airlangga Hartarto.
"We will have a session with them to explain what are the practices in Malaysia and Indonesia, the standards we have developed, to what extent our compliances are and what else we can do so that we can meet at the middle ground.
"It will be a win-win for the world as everybody is looking into the aspects of environment and human rights, and so is Malaysia. New Straits Times
----------
Human Rights Coalition Hosts Human Rights Due Diligence Workshop in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR and PARIS, 14th March 2023 – In collaboration with the Malaysian Ministry of Plantation and Commodities, The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) Human Rights Coalition (HRC) today hosted a practical workshop for Malaysian palm oil companies on best practices for implementing a pragmatic business approach to human rights due diligence (HRDD). The workshop was the first held in a learning series hosted by the HRC’s People Positive Palm Project (P3 Project), jointly implemented by the Fair Labor Association (FLA) and the International Organization for Migration, which aims to leverage collective action and eradicate forced labour from the Malaysian palm oil industry.
The workshop was opened by YAB Dato’ Sri Haji Fadillah Yusof, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, and Minister of Plantation and Commodities. In his remarks, he expressed support for the P3 Project as a key initiative for driving business innovation in Malaysia by helping suppliers to enhance their productivity and resilience in the face of global challenges, secure product exportability, and increase attractiveness for investors. By increasing Workers’ wellbeing, the Malaysian palm industry can lead a regional and sectoral transformation towards people positive business practices, ultimately making Malaysia a trendsetter on practical and effective approaches to HRDD. He also highlighted the need for continued private-public sector collaboration to address the systemic challenges facing the industry. The Consumer Goods Forum
----------
Palm oil industry should use HRDD as a tool for responsible business practices, says DPM Fadillah
KUALA LUMPUR: Companies in the palm oil sector should adopt the concept of Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD), which is a key tool to support business practices and enhance businesses' positive impact.
Deputy Prime Minister and Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said HRDD would ensure Malaysia was a preferred destination for migrant workers and the palm oil industry.
HRDD is defined as a risk management tool for organisations to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for how they address actual and potential adverse human rights impacts in their operations, supply chains and business relations.
Fadillah said the palm oil industry in Malaysia had the potential to be a trendsetter for other industry transformations in the region and globally, and therefore, HRDD should not be deemed a burden. New Straits Times
----------
Deforestation Inc. reporters checked global promises to end forest loss. This is what they found
From Europe to Asia to North America, even as leaders and governments made new sustainability pledges, authorities were failing on a number of key forest protection measures.
In late 2021 nearly 140 world leaders gathering at the United Nations climate talks in Glasgow pledged to end forest loss and land degradation by 2030. With the exception of notable abstainers such as India ー one of the world’s most forest-rich countries ー the politicians acknowledged crucial measures to combat the climate crisis: forest conservation, policies that promote sustainable development, and the empowerment of communities that are the stewards of forestlands worldwide.
This month, 140 reporters from 27 countries took part in Deforestation Inc., a cross-border investigation led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. They found that some nations are falling well short of achieving those stated ambitions. According to a 2022 study by a coalition of civil society organizations under the name of Forest Declaration Assessment, “[d]espite encouraging signs, not a single global indicator is on track to meet these 2030 goals.”
New laws, old problems in Europe
As one of the world’s largest consumers of wood, palm oil and other commodities associated with forest loss, the European Union is responsible for about 10% of global forest destruction. Last year, the bloc passed a new regulation to combat deforestation. Starting from 2024, it will require every company trading, exporting or importing timber and six other commodities to check and prove that the products are not linked to harmful forest practices. ICIJ
----------
Palm oil major quits no-deforestation initiative HCSA: A commitment to efficiency or a ‘dangerous sign of backsliding’?
Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) has been slammed by environmental campaigners for renouncing its HCSA membership. According to the palm oil major, the move represents a commitment to ‘doubling down on what’s working’. Food Navigator
----------
Food industry urged to pull out of damaging palm oil deals and sharpen responsible purchasing
13 Mar 2023 --- Creating a sustainable palm oil industry that distances itself from harmful human rights breaches, damaging environmental impacts like contributing to deforestation and other illegal practices such as land grabbing are once again in the spotlight as key players pull out of deals with Astra Agro Lestari (AAL).
Food companies are scrutinizing the origins of their palm oil supplies as the second largest palm oil plantation in Indonesia, AAL, has been accused by environmental group Friends of the Earth of illegal land grabbing and harming local waterways and forests.
FrieslandCampina conducted its own investigation on AAL practices and its findings led the company to halt sourcing materials from them.
“Responsible purchasing with respect for the environment, biodiversity and human rights is important to us. In October 2022 we received critical questions from an NGO. This motivated us to conduct further investigation. Based on the findings, we asked our supplier to no longer source materials from this plantation,” a FrieslandCampina spokesperson tells FoodIngredienstFirst.
FrieslandCampina’s move to pull out comes on the heels of Nestlé’s recent decision to stop sourcing from the three subsidiaries of AAL accused of land abuses. The Swiss food giant made the decision following an independent assessment.
Other companies that have cut ties with AAL include Hershey, Procter & Gamble and Colgate. Food Ingredients First
|
|
|
March 12, 2023
Malaysia-Sabah remains significant regional palm oil producer despite decline in yields, says MPOA CEO
SANDAKAN, March 11 — Sabah remains a significant regional palm oil producer and continues to feed global demands, ensuring livelihood and shared prosperity for all Sabahans, said Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) chief executive officer Joseph Tek
He said Sabah produced 23.3 per cent of Malaysia’s crude palm oil (CPO) last year, generating 4.29 million tonnes from its landbank of 1.51 million hectares of planted oil palm area.
“However, the crop yield declined by 2.4 per cent year-on-year to 15.4 tonnes per hectare per year, and the oil and kernel extraction rates (OER and KER) also declined by 1.5 per cent to 20.25 per cent and 0.9 per cent to 4.47 per cent, respectively. Malay Mail
----------
Challenges, issues facing palm oil industry in Sabah, Malaysia
KOTA KINABALU (March 11): The Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) discussed challenges and issues facing the palm oil industry in Malaysia, with a special focus on Sabah at its Sabah branch’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Sandakan on March 12.
Joseph Tek Choon Yee, MPOA’s Chief Executive, emphasised in his keynote address that Sabah’s oil palm sector is vital to the state’s socioeconomic landscape, providing employment and contributing substantial taxes to the government coffers.
He also touched on other critical issues in MPOA’s ongoing engagements with relevant stakeholders, such as labour shortage, mechanisation, productivity gap and unabated production costs, including taxation and emerging sustainability issues such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
Today, Tek said, Sabah remains a significant regional producer of palm oil in the world and continues to feed the global demands and ensuring livelihood and shared prosperity for all Sabahans. The Borneo Post
----------
Indonesia keen to help revive Sri Lanka’s palm oil industry - Ambassador Tobing
Indonesia is keen to help revive Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector, especially the palm oil industry that could bring in huge amounts of foreign currency, said Indonesian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Dewi Gusting Tobing.
She told Sunday Observer Business that Indonesia supported Sri Lanka during the C-19 pandemic providing essential medicines and other necessities.
She said that one of the priorities for Sri Lanka is to bring in more foreign currency to breach the import-export gap. “One area for this is to take a re-look at palm oil plantations which was cold shouldered by the last regime.
“We see tremendous opportunities in restarting the palm oil plantations in Sri Lanka as it could firstly reduce the USD 50 million import bill on palm oil and then go on become another country that earns foreign exchange through palm oil exports adding a new product to Lanka’s export catalogue.”
Indonesia is the world’s largest exporter of palm oil. In 2021, its total palm oil exports amounted to 26.9 million metric tons brining in a revenue of around USD17 billion.
The palm oil industry has grown to become an important part of Indonesia’s economy, representing 4.5% of GDP and lifting millions of Indonesians out of poverty.
“This is why we are keen to promote this in Sri Lanka as a friendly country.” Sunday ObserverLK
Malaysia-Sabah remains significant regional palm oil producer despite decline in yields, says MPOA CEO
SANDAKAN, March 11 — Sabah remains a significant regional palm oil producer and continues to feed global demands, ensuring livelihood and shared prosperity for all Sabahans, said Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) chief executive officer Joseph Tek
He said Sabah produced 23.3 per cent of Malaysia’s crude palm oil (CPO) last year, generating 4.29 million tonnes from its landbank of 1.51 million hectares of planted oil palm area.
“However, the crop yield declined by 2.4 per cent year-on-year to 15.4 tonnes per hectare per year, and the oil and kernel extraction rates (OER and KER) also declined by 1.5 per cent to 20.25 per cent and 0.9 per cent to 4.47 per cent, respectively. Malay Mail
----------
Challenges, issues facing palm oil industry in Sabah, Malaysia
KOTA KINABALU (March 11): The Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) discussed challenges and issues facing the palm oil industry in Malaysia, with a special focus on Sabah at its Sabah branch’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Sandakan on March 12.
Joseph Tek Choon Yee, MPOA’s Chief Executive, emphasised in his keynote address that Sabah’s oil palm sector is vital to the state’s socioeconomic landscape, providing employment and contributing substantial taxes to the government coffers.
He also touched on other critical issues in MPOA’s ongoing engagements with relevant stakeholders, such as labour shortage, mechanisation, productivity gap and unabated production costs, including taxation and emerging sustainability issues such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
Today, Tek said, Sabah remains a significant regional producer of palm oil in the world and continues to feed the global demands and ensuring livelihood and shared prosperity for all Sabahans. The Borneo Post
----------
Indonesia keen to help revive Sri Lanka’s palm oil industry - Ambassador Tobing
Indonesia is keen to help revive Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector, especially the palm oil industry that could bring in huge amounts of foreign currency, said Indonesian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Dewi Gusting Tobing.
She told Sunday Observer Business that Indonesia supported Sri Lanka during the C-19 pandemic providing essential medicines and other necessities.
She said that one of the priorities for Sri Lanka is to bring in more foreign currency to breach the import-export gap. “One area for this is to take a re-look at palm oil plantations which was cold shouldered by the last regime.
“We see tremendous opportunities in restarting the palm oil plantations in Sri Lanka as it could firstly reduce the USD 50 million import bill on palm oil and then go on become another country that earns foreign exchange through palm oil exports adding a new product to Lanka’s export catalogue.”
Indonesia is the world’s largest exporter of palm oil. In 2021, its total palm oil exports amounted to 26.9 million metric tons brining in a revenue of around USD17 billion.
The palm oil industry has grown to become an important part of Indonesia’s economy, representing 4.5% of GDP and lifting millions of Indonesians out of poverty.
“This is why we are keen to promote this in Sri Lanka as a friendly country.” Sunday ObserverLK
|
|
|
March 11, 2023
Floods and old trees in Malaysia set to tighten palm oil market
The global palm oil market is expected to tighten this year as floods and older trees constrain production in the world’s second-biggest supplier, according to a major Malaysian growers group.
Indonesia and Malaysia may only see a marginal increase in output this year of less than 3%, respectively, Joseph Tek, the chief executive of the Malaysian Palm Oil Association, said in a statement. Heavy rainfall and floods in parts of Malaysia will constrict production in the short term because of disruptions to harvesting and logistics, and result in poorer quality fruit, he added.
The number of trees older than 25 years has also expanded, meaning a portion of the plantation will be less productive. Replanting has been slow due to high costs, and the top-producing state in Malaysia - Sabah - now has the country’s highest area of trees above that age, Tek said. The Peninsula Qatar/ Bloomberg
----------
PepsiCo, FrieslandCampina Halt Business With Palm Oil Supplier
US soda and food maker PepsiCo and Dutch dairy producer FrieslandCampina have asked their suppliers to cease buying palm oil from plantation owner Astra Agro Lestari, accused by environmental groups of land and human-rights abuses.
Corporate supply chains are under scrutiny as regulators and investors increasingly consider environmental and social impacts, and as consumers worry about climate change and biodiversity loss.
Environmental groups last year found that Jakarta-based palm oil producer Astra Agro Lestari (AAL) did not obtain consent from local communities before claiming land, improperly disposed of waste and cleared areas leading to flooding in Indonesia.
Cut Ties
The findings spurred some major consumer products and packaged food manufacturers, which widely use palm oil, to cut ties with the agricultural company. ESM/ Reuters
----------
JGC, JANUS and Gas Malaysia to conduct a joint study of sustainable palm oil industry development
KUALA LUMPUR: JGC Holdings Corporation and Japan NUS (JANUS) have signed a memorandum of understanding with Gas Malaysia Bhd for a joint study of sustainable domestic palm oil industry development through effective utilisation of unused resources from palm oil milling in the country.
In a joint statement today, JGC and Gas Malaysia said the latter would provide information on facilities with good access to feedstock in Peninsular Malaysia and on bioenergy, including natural gas distribution networks.
Meanwhile, it said JGC and JANUS would study the solutions needed to convert industrial palm oil mill effluent (POME), empty fruit bunch (EFB) and thinned or waste wood to biofuel and biochemicals.
"The joint study will tie in with the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Initiative as announced by the Japan government in 2022,” they said.
The statement said the project would study the feasibility of converting the methane sources of POME and EFB into biomethane fuel and pellet fuel through recovery and processing.
It said potential biocrude oil and biochemical applications for thinned and waste wood would also be investigated. The StarMY
Floods and old trees in Malaysia set to tighten palm oil market
The global palm oil market is expected to tighten this year as floods and older trees constrain production in the world’s second-biggest supplier, according to a major Malaysian growers group.
Indonesia and Malaysia may only see a marginal increase in output this year of less than 3%, respectively, Joseph Tek, the chief executive of the Malaysian Palm Oil Association, said in a statement. Heavy rainfall and floods in parts of Malaysia will constrict production in the short term because of disruptions to harvesting and logistics, and result in poorer quality fruit, he added.
The number of trees older than 25 years has also expanded, meaning a portion of the plantation will be less productive. Replanting has been slow due to high costs, and the top-producing state in Malaysia - Sabah - now has the country’s highest area of trees above that age, Tek said. The Peninsula Qatar/ Bloomberg
----------
PepsiCo, FrieslandCampina Halt Business With Palm Oil Supplier
US soda and food maker PepsiCo and Dutch dairy producer FrieslandCampina have asked their suppliers to cease buying palm oil from plantation owner Astra Agro Lestari, accused by environmental groups of land and human-rights abuses.
Corporate supply chains are under scrutiny as regulators and investors increasingly consider environmental and social impacts, and as consumers worry about climate change and biodiversity loss.
Environmental groups last year found that Jakarta-based palm oil producer Astra Agro Lestari (AAL) did not obtain consent from local communities before claiming land, improperly disposed of waste and cleared areas leading to flooding in Indonesia.
Cut Ties
The findings spurred some major consumer products and packaged food manufacturers, which widely use palm oil, to cut ties with the agricultural company. ESM/ Reuters
----------
JGC, JANUS and Gas Malaysia to conduct a joint study of sustainable palm oil industry development
KUALA LUMPUR: JGC Holdings Corporation and Japan NUS (JANUS) have signed a memorandum of understanding with Gas Malaysia Bhd for a joint study of sustainable domestic palm oil industry development through effective utilisation of unused resources from palm oil milling in the country.
In a joint statement today, JGC and Gas Malaysia said the latter would provide information on facilities with good access to feedstock in Peninsular Malaysia and on bioenergy, including natural gas distribution networks.
Meanwhile, it said JGC and JANUS would study the solutions needed to convert industrial palm oil mill effluent (POME), empty fruit bunch (EFB) and thinned or waste wood to biofuel and biochemicals.
"The joint study will tie in with the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Initiative as announced by the Japan government in 2022,” they said.
The statement said the project would study the feasibility of converting the methane sources of POME and EFB into biomethane fuel and pellet fuel through recovery and processing.
It said potential biocrude oil and biochemical applications for thinned and waste wood would also be investigated. The StarMY
|
|
|
March 10, 2023
Malaysia-Coordinated approach for palm oil issues
KUALA LUMPUR: A palm oil industry player has called for a coordinated approach to deal with the issues in the palm oil industry, including the treatment of foreign labour in Malaysia.
Wilmar International Ltd general manager for group sustainability, Perpetua George, said foreign labour issues were happening in many sectors throughout the country, not just in the palm oil industry.
“I think when you expect only one sector to take action, that is not going to resolve the issue. We also need to get input from the manufacturing and construction sectors.”
During a panel session titled “Palm Oil Sustainability: The Way Forward” at the Palm and Lauric Oils Price Outlook Conference and Exhibition, she noted that the oil palm sector has been scapegoated for years in terms of the treatment of foreign labour.
She said there has also been a failure to recognise the sector’s contributions to rural development, and highlighted that over the years, palm oil companies had provided infrastructures such as accommodations, schools and roads.
“We are doing a lot. We need reciprocation, we need guidance from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and the Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council. We need the government to come and support us,” she said. The StarMY
----------
Malaysia-Expedite market access involving smallholders
UCHING: Those responsible for the sustainability agenda in the palm oil industry are asked to speed up market access for palm oil products, especially involving smallholders in Sarawak.
In stating this, Minister of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development (M-FICORD) Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom said this action was important where the produce from smallholders could increase the sustainability, productivity of produce in Sarawak, thus increasing their livelihood.
“Give quick market accessibility for palm oil products, especially for smallholders in Sarawak for a more sustainable palm oil industry, he said at a round table meeting for Transition Towards Sustainable Palm Oil Production in Sarawak at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK), yesterday.
Dr Rundi’s text of speech was read by his deputy minister Martin Ben, who represented him at the round table meeting.
He noted that the Sarawak government fully supported the initiative of any solution-oriented civil society organisation (CSO) such as Solidaridad Network (Solidaridad) on the action.
“So far, Solidaridad has succeeded in uniting the parties involved in the supply chain involving smallholders with the parties involved in facing challenges and producing innovative products to increase production and encourage their transition.
“At the same time, this collaboration can also take steps towards sustainability and generate an inclusive economy that will benefit the community,” he said.
Dr Rundi also stressed that, as the ministry was responsible for leading the development of agriculture and commodities especially in the rural areas of Sarawak, he hoped that more efforts would be made to help smallholders. New Sarawak Tribune
----------
India-SEA chief asks palm oil producers to pay attention to Asian buyers
Palm oil manufacturers tend to respond more to European buyers’ demand, says Jhunjhunwala
India, which is one of the major consumers of palm oil in Asia, has urged global palm oil producers to pay attention to the needs of Asian purchasers also.
Speaking at the second meeting of the Asian Palm Oil Alliance (APOA) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Ajay Jhunjhunwala, President of the Solvent Extractors’ The Hindu Businessline
---------
Nigeria-Edo trains smallholder oil palm farmers on sustainable farming practices
Investors in oil palm estate farming in Edo State have engaged communities on practices to ensure sustainable oil palm production under the Community Outreach and Engagement Programme (COEP).
The Managing Consultant and Chief Executive Officer of Foremost Development Services Limited, Fatai Afolabi, said the COEP initiative was to engage stakeholders at all levels of society within palm oil-producing countries.
Afolabi also added that the programme would be organised in six oil palm-producing local councils in the state. The councils are Ikpoba Okha, Ovia South-West, Ovia North-East, Ovia South-West, Uhunmwonde, Owan West and Orhionmwon.
According to him, over 80 smallholder oil palm farmers, elders, youths, women and community-based organisations (CBO) were trained on the principles and criteria of Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
Noting that the programme ensures an equitable playing field for all stakeholders in the palm oil industry, he said it focuses on the three impact goals of prosperity, people and planet. The Guardian NG
----------
Nigeria-Despite reported positive trend, palm oil industry still struggling
With less than a year to the 2024 target for Nigeria to attain self-sufficiency in palm oil, it is becoming unrealistic for a country, which once occupied the vantage position as the leading exporter of the produce to return to that enviable position it relinquished, going by the current production capacity.
Even stakeholders in the industry have expressed reservations that the projection is a mere political statement, academic and unrealistic, considering factors surrounding oil palm development in the country.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, who made the policy statement in 2019, at a stakeholders’ meeting on the Palm Oil Value Chain, in Abuja, pointed towards the possibility of making the country self-sufficient in palm oil between 2022 and 2024 and ultimately overtake Thailand and Columbia to become the third largest producer. The Guardian NG
Malaysia-Coordinated approach for palm oil issues
KUALA LUMPUR: A palm oil industry player has called for a coordinated approach to deal with the issues in the palm oil industry, including the treatment of foreign labour in Malaysia.
Wilmar International Ltd general manager for group sustainability, Perpetua George, said foreign labour issues were happening in many sectors throughout the country, not just in the palm oil industry.
“I think when you expect only one sector to take action, that is not going to resolve the issue. We also need to get input from the manufacturing and construction sectors.”
During a panel session titled “Palm Oil Sustainability: The Way Forward” at the Palm and Lauric Oils Price Outlook Conference and Exhibition, she noted that the oil palm sector has been scapegoated for years in terms of the treatment of foreign labour.
She said there has also been a failure to recognise the sector’s contributions to rural development, and highlighted that over the years, palm oil companies had provided infrastructures such as accommodations, schools and roads.
“We are doing a lot. We need reciprocation, we need guidance from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and the Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council. We need the government to come and support us,” she said. The StarMY
----------
Malaysia-Expedite market access involving smallholders
UCHING: Those responsible for the sustainability agenda in the palm oil industry are asked to speed up market access for palm oil products, especially involving smallholders in Sarawak.
In stating this, Minister of Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development (M-FICORD) Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom said this action was important where the produce from smallholders could increase the sustainability, productivity of produce in Sarawak, thus increasing their livelihood.
“Give quick market accessibility for palm oil products, especially for smallholders in Sarawak for a more sustainable palm oil industry, he said at a round table meeting for Transition Towards Sustainable Palm Oil Production in Sarawak at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK), yesterday.
Dr Rundi’s text of speech was read by his deputy minister Martin Ben, who represented him at the round table meeting.
He noted that the Sarawak government fully supported the initiative of any solution-oriented civil society organisation (CSO) such as Solidaridad Network (Solidaridad) on the action.
“So far, Solidaridad has succeeded in uniting the parties involved in the supply chain involving smallholders with the parties involved in facing challenges and producing innovative products to increase production and encourage their transition.
“At the same time, this collaboration can also take steps towards sustainability and generate an inclusive economy that will benefit the community,” he said.
Dr Rundi also stressed that, as the ministry was responsible for leading the development of agriculture and commodities especially in the rural areas of Sarawak, he hoped that more efforts would be made to help smallholders. New Sarawak Tribune
----------
India-SEA chief asks palm oil producers to pay attention to Asian buyers
Palm oil manufacturers tend to respond more to European buyers’ demand, says Jhunjhunwala
India, which is one of the major consumers of palm oil in Asia, has urged global palm oil producers to pay attention to the needs of Asian purchasers also.
Speaking at the second meeting of the Asian Palm Oil Alliance (APOA) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Ajay Jhunjhunwala, President of the Solvent Extractors’ The Hindu Businessline
---------
Nigeria-Edo trains smallholder oil palm farmers on sustainable farming practices
Investors in oil palm estate farming in Edo State have engaged communities on practices to ensure sustainable oil palm production under the Community Outreach and Engagement Programme (COEP).
The Managing Consultant and Chief Executive Officer of Foremost Development Services Limited, Fatai Afolabi, said the COEP initiative was to engage stakeholders at all levels of society within palm oil-producing countries.
Afolabi also added that the programme would be organised in six oil palm-producing local councils in the state. The councils are Ikpoba Okha, Ovia South-West, Ovia North-East, Ovia South-West, Uhunmwonde, Owan West and Orhionmwon.
According to him, over 80 smallholder oil palm farmers, elders, youths, women and community-based organisations (CBO) were trained on the principles and criteria of Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
Noting that the programme ensures an equitable playing field for all stakeholders in the palm oil industry, he said it focuses on the three impact goals of prosperity, people and planet. The Guardian NG
----------
Nigeria-Despite reported positive trend, palm oil industry still struggling
With less than a year to the 2024 target for Nigeria to attain self-sufficiency in palm oil, it is becoming unrealistic for a country, which once occupied the vantage position as the leading exporter of the produce to return to that enviable position it relinquished, going by the current production capacity.
Even stakeholders in the industry have expressed reservations that the projection is a mere political statement, academic and unrealistic, considering factors surrounding oil palm development in the country.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, who made the policy statement in 2019, at a stakeholders’ meeting on the Palm Oil Value Chain, in Abuja, pointed towards the possibility of making the country self-sufficient in palm oil between 2022 and 2024 and ultimately overtake Thailand and Columbia to become the third largest producer. The Guardian NG
|
|
|
March 09, 2023
Indonesia's biodiesel policy, dry weather to keep palm oil prices elevated
Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav and Mei Mei Chu; editing by Naveen Thukral and Sharon Singleton Reuters
----------
Minister to accelerate replanting of smallholder oil palm plantations
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto has vowed to accelerate the rejuvenation of smallholder palm oil plantations that had only reached 200 thousand hectares in 2022, from the targeted 540 thousand hectares.
To achieve this, the government is opening access to palm oil rejuvenation through a partnership scheme between planters and partner companies with several conditions, including the use of certified seeds, plantation management according to the ISPO criteria, and a commitment from the company to become an off-taker.
"Under these conditions, of course, we encourage the availability of seeds to be prepared properly and also to work with off-takers, so that the planters can encourage this replanting program, including making this program bankable," Hartarto noted in an official statement on Thursday.
Hartarto said that in 2022, 717 members of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki) control 3.69 million hectares, or around 22 percent of the national palm oil area spread across 21 provinces. Antara News
------------
JGC announces joint study on sustainable palm-oil supply chain
JGC Corp. (Yokohama, Japan) and Japan NUS (JANUS) have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Malaysian natural gas sales, marketing, and distribution company Gas Malaysia Bhd (GMB) for joint study of sustainable domestic palm oil industry development through effective utilization of unused resources from palm oil milling in the country.
Malaysia is the world’s second largest producer of palm oil after Indonesia. Palm oil is a useful product, whether as a cooking oil or an ingredient in cosmetics and many other daily necessities, but palm oil mill effluent and empty fruit bunches (POME and EFB, respectively) from the production process emit large amounts of methane gas, which is said to have a greenhouse effect 25 times that of CO2. This environmental issue hampers the country’s efforts toward carbon neutrality. Another challenge is that the palm oil industry discards thinned wood, waste wood, and other potential raw materials for biocrude oil or biochemicals without using it.
This project will study the feasibility of converting the methane sources of POME and EFB into biomethane fuel and pellet fuel through recovery and processing. Potential biocrude oil and biochemical applications for thinned and waste wood will also be investigated. Participants intend to contribute to sustainability in the palm oil industry through effective utilization of the unused resources generated by the industry, with another goal being reduction of Scope 1 CO2 emissions by energy and biofuel consumers. Chem EngOnline
-----------
Philippines-Napocor, renewables firm study biofuel-biomass power
NATIONAL Power Power Corp. (Napocor) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with renewable energy company APTI Renewable Energy Corp. to identify possible renewable energy development.
The state-led corporation said the tie-up would enable it to “promote and identify priorities” for the development of sustainable renewable energy using biofuel and biomass hybrid power, particularly its small power utilities group (SPUG) areas.
Martin Y. Roxas, Napocor president and chief executive officer, said the MoU “will allow us to access APTI REC’s technology on the use of biofuel or palm oil as an alternative fuel.”
According to Mr. Roxas, the partnership is part of Napocor’s agenda on sustainability and the gradual minimization of fossil fuel dependence.
“Together, we shall also collaborate to build a prototype bioenergy renewable energy power plant that uses palm oil and develop an integrated logistical and technical system for the production of biofuel and biomass,” he added. BWorld Online
-----------
Liberia: GVL Violates Villagers’ Rights Then Sues Them For Palm Theft
BUTAW, Sinoe County – Things were about to change for Lincoln Weah and his friends but he did not know.
It was July 7, 2022. Weah had just returned from setting up his palm oil production worksite in a palm farm around the Bellehful village. Suddenly, a group of guards of Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL) and armed police arrested him.
Wearing palm-oil-stained clothes, they accused Weah of stealing palm nuts from GVL’s plantation and demanded he took them to the worksite.
“When we reached there, they began to beat me, forcing me to call the names of my friends in the village,” Weah tells The DayLight. “They promised that when I showed the people who are making palm oil on the farm, they would let me go.”
Weah believed the guards and police officers and named his three workmates. But it was a trick. As soon as he disclosed their names, the beating intensified, according to Weah. A picture obtained from the NGO Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) shows the 32-year-old sitting on the blackened ground of the worksite, surrounded by guards and policemen. Other pictures show metal drums of palm nuts, the men carrying a handheld palm mill and Weah detained by a police officer.
They led Weah back to Belleh-ful and arrested the other men, who had been there all long. He, Shelton Wawoe, Tolou Kamara and Timothy Tarpeh were shoved in a vehicle and taken to jail in Butaw. Not long after Moses David, 43, a GVL worker and owner of the farm the suspects produced palm oil, joined them. Front Page Africa
Indonesia's biodiesel policy, dry weather to keep palm oil prices elevated
- Higher biodiesel output, dry weather could curb palm supplies
- RBD palm olein could rise 16% to $1,150/T in H2 2023 - Mielke
- CPO seen at 4,000-5,000 RGT/T from now until August - Mistry
Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav and Mei Mei Chu; editing by Naveen Thukral and Sharon Singleton Reuters
----------
Minister to accelerate replanting of smallholder oil palm plantations
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto has vowed to accelerate the rejuvenation of smallholder palm oil plantations that had only reached 200 thousand hectares in 2022, from the targeted 540 thousand hectares.
To achieve this, the government is opening access to palm oil rejuvenation through a partnership scheme between planters and partner companies with several conditions, including the use of certified seeds, plantation management according to the ISPO criteria, and a commitment from the company to become an off-taker.
"Under these conditions, of course, we encourage the availability of seeds to be prepared properly and also to work with off-takers, so that the planters can encourage this replanting program, including making this program bankable," Hartarto noted in an official statement on Thursday.
Hartarto said that in 2022, 717 members of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki) control 3.69 million hectares, or around 22 percent of the national palm oil area spread across 21 provinces. Antara News
------------
JGC announces joint study on sustainable palm-oil supply chain
JGC Corp. (Yokohama, Japan) and Japan NUS (JANUS) have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Malaysian natural gas sales, marketing, and distribution company Gas Malaysia Bhd (GMB) for joint study of sustainable domestic palm oil industry development through effective utilization of unused resources from palm oil milling in the country.
Malaysia is the world’s second largest producer of palm oil after Indonesia. Palm oil is a useful product, whether as a cooking oil or an ingredient in cosmetics and many other daily necessities, but palm oil mill effluent and empty fruit bunches (POME and EFB, respectively) from the production process emit large amounts of methane gas, which is said to have a greenhouse effect 25 times that of CO2. This environmental issue hampers the country’s efforts toward carbon neutrality. Another challenge is that the palm oil industry discards thinned wood, waste wood, and other potential raw materials for biocrude oil or biochemicals without using it.
This project will study the feasibility of converting the methane sources of POME and EFB into biomethane fuel and pellet fuel through recovery and processing. Potential biocrude oil and biochemical applications for thinned and waste wood will also be investigated. Participants intend to contribute to sustainability in the palm oil industry through effective utilization of the unused resources generated by the industry, with another goal being reduction of Scope 1 CO2 emissions by energy and biofuel consumers. Chem EngOnline
-----------
Philippines-Napocor, renewables firm study biofuel-biomass power
NATIONAL Power Power Corp. (Napocor) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with renewable energy company APTI Renewable Energy Corp. to identify possible renewable energy development.
The state-led corporation said the tie-up would enable it to “promote and identify priorities” for the development of sustainable renewable energy using biofuel and biomass hybrid power, particularly its small power utilities group (SPUG) areas.
Martin Y. Roxas, Napocor president and chief executive officer, said the MoU “will allow us to access APTI REC’s technology on the use of biofuel or palm oil as an alternative fuel.”
According to Mr. Roxas, the partnership is part of Napocor’s agenda on sustainability and the gradual minimization of fossil fuel dependence.
“Together, we shall also collaborate to build a prototype bioenergy renewable energy power plant that uses palm oil and develop an integrated logistical and technical system for the production of biofuel and biomass,” he added. BWorld Online
-----------
Liberia: GVL Violates Villagers’ Rights Then Sues Them For Palm Theft
BUTAW, Sinoe County – Things were about to change for Lincoln Weah and his friends but he did not know.
It was July 7, 2022. Weah had just returned from setting up his palm oil production worksite in a palm farm around the Bellehful village. Suddenly, a group of guards of Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL) and armed police arrested him.
Wearing palm-oil-stained clothes, they accused Weah of stealing palm nuts from GVL’s plantation and demanded he took them to the worksite.
“When we reached there, they began to beat me, forcing me to call the names of my friends in the village,” Weah tells The DayLight. “They promised that when I showed the people who are making palm oil on the farm, they would let me go.”
Weah believed the guards and police officers and named his three workmates. But it was a trick. As soon as he disclosed their names, the beating intensified, according to Weah. A picture obtained from the NGO Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) shows the 32-year-old sitting on the blackened ground of the worksite, surrounded by guards and policemen. Other pictures show metal drums of palm nuts, the men carrying a handheld palm mill and Weah detained by a police officer.
They led Weah back to Belleh-ful and arrested the other men, who had been there all long. He, Shelton Wawoe, Tolou Kamara and Timothy Tarpeh were shoved in a vehicle and taken to jail in Butaw. Not long after Moses David, 43, a GVL worker and owner of the farm the suspects produced palm oil, joined them. Front Page Africa
|
|
|
March 08, 2023
Palm oil industry growth slows due to sustainability, management constraints
March 08, 2023 (MLN): The palm oil industry has lost its growth momentum due to the slow expansion of plantation areas, high input costs, and stringent sustainability standards, as well as insufficient replantings and management constraints that have resulted in below potential yields, Thomas Mielke, Executive Director of ISTA Mielke GmbH Oil World stated while speaking at the POC2023 conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Mielke expressed that the growth momentum of the industry has slowed down significantly.
He also highlighted that the expansion of plantation areas has reduced, and the high input costs, along with stringent sustainability standards, have deterred investors from investing in the industry.
"Insufficient replantings and management constraints have led to palm yields being below their potential," he noted. He further added that he expects the RBD palm olein free-on-board price to average $1,150 per ton for July/December this year.
The palm oil industry has been facing sustainability issues for quite some time now, with concerns being raised about deforestation, wildlife habitat destruction, and human rights violations. The industry has been taking steps to address these concerns, with companies and organizations implementing various sustainability standards and practices.
Despite these efforts, the industry still faces challenges, and experts like Mielke believe that the industry needs to do more to address these issues and attract investment. Mettis Global
----------
Bursa Malaysia, LSE Group to start sustainability reporting platform in April - PM
KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Reuters) - Bursa Malaysia (BMYS.KL) and the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L) will roll out a centralised sustainability reporting platform from next month to help companies calculate the impact of their carbon emissions, Malaysia's prime minister said.
The platform is also expected to help firms, including unlisted small-to-medium enterprises, to disclose environmental, social or governance (ESG) data in line with established global standards, Anwar Ibrahim told an annual investor conference.
"This platform has the potential to be a key enabler to Malaysia’s pivot to green, and to support our sustainable development, while creating high-skilled jobs for our progress towards a high-income nation," Anwar, who is also finance minister, said at the Invest Malaysia conference on Wednesday.
The announcement comes as Malaysian companies look to improve their ESG practices, amid new European Union laws on deforestation and sustainability that could restrict the use of Malaysian commodities such as palm oil. Reuters
-----------
Benefits of palm oil in combating climate change are misunderstood
Palm oil has been the target of relentless attacks by environmental NGOs, due to its association with deforestation and human rights issues in developing countries. However, a lesser-known fact is that palm oil has the capability to combat climate change.
As the most productive oil crop in the world, palm oil is six times more productive than canola and 10 times more productive than soybean. This means that it takes 10 times more land for soybean to produce the same amount of oil as palm. Moreover, palm oil farming can be made sustainable, with about 19 percent of palm production already considered sustainable.
Over 85 percent of the global supply comes from 17 million hectares in Malaysia and Indonesia.
If we look at oil production alone, 10 hectares of soybean farms in the U.S. or Europe can be converted back to the forest that it once was for every hectare of forest in Malaysia or Indonesia that was converted to a palm oil farm.
Not only would this be a very effective way to maintain oil production, it would also aid at fighting global warming by increasing carbon sequestration in the newly created forests in the U.S., Germany, France and England, while providing much-needed sanctuaries to the people of these countries. Pulse NewsKR
----------
EU’s deforestation regulations discriminatory against Sarawak’s indigenous planters, violating human rights
MIRI (March 7): The Sarawak Dayak Oil Palm Planters Association (Doppa) has accused the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) in the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) of being discriminatory against the Dayak community and other indigenous groups in the state as well as violating human rights.
In a statement, Doppa president Napolean Ningkos said the EU’s deforestation regulations and CSDDD have prevented the Dayak community and other indigenous groups in Sarawak from achieving socioeconomic progress.
“The CSDDD is making its way up the legislative chain in the EU and is expected to become legally binding for all companies that import goods into the EU market.
“The core purpose of CSDDD is to ensure that European imports do not cause or link to deforestation in countries that produce palm oil, cocoa, coffee, rubber, and other commodities,” he said.
Napolean said indigenous people have the right to develop their ancestral lands as approved by the state government under the Native Territorial Domain (NTD) Land Code of Sarawak. The Borneo Post
Palm oil industry growth slows due to sustainability, management constraints
March 08, 2023 (MLN): The palm oil industry has lost its growth momentum due to the slow expansion of plantation areas, high input costs, and stringent sustainability standards, as well as insufficient replantings and management constraints that have resulted in below potential yields, Thomas Mielke, Executive Director of ISTA Mielke GmbH Oil World stated while speaking at the POC2023 conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Mielke expressed that the growth momentum of the industry has slowed down significantly.
He also highlighted that the expansion of plantation areas has reduced, and the high input costs, along with stringent sustainability standards, have deterred investors from investing in the industry.
"Insufficient replantings and management constraints have led to palm yields being below their potential," he noted. He further added that he expects the RBD palm olein free-on-board price to average $1,150 per ton for July/December this year.
The palm oil industry has been facing sustainability issues for quite some time now, with concerns being raised about deforestation, wildlife habitat destruction, and human rights violations. The industry has been taking steps to address these concerns, with companies and organizations implementing various sustainability standards and practices.
Despite these efforts, the industry still faces challenges, and experts like Mielke believe that the industry needs to do more to address these issues and attract investment. Mettis Global
----------
Bursa Malaysia, LSE Group to start sustainability reporting platform in April - PM
KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Reuters) - Bursa Malaysia (BMYS.KL) and the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L) will roll out a centralised sustainability reporting platform from next month to help companies calculate the impact of their carbon emissions, Malaysia's prime minister said.
The platform is also expected to help firms, including unlisted small-to-medium enterprises, to disclose environmental, social or governance (ESG) data in line with established global standards, Anwar Ibrahim told an annual investor conference.
"This platform has the potential to be a key enabler to Malaysia’s pivot to green, and to support our sustainable development, while creating high-skilled jobs for our progress towards a high-income nation," Anwar, who is also finance minister, said at the Invest Malaysia conference on Wednesday.
The announcement comes as Malaysian companies look to improve their ESG practices, amid new European Union laws on deforestation and sustainability that could restrict the use of Malaysian commodities such as palm oil. Reuters
-----------
Benefits of palm oil in combating climate change are misunderstood
Palm oil has been the target of relentless attacks by environmental NGOs, due to its association with deforestation and human rights issues in developing countries. However, a lesser-known fact is that palm oil has the capability to combat climate change.
As the most productive oil crop in the world, palm oil is six times more productive than canola and 10 times more productive than soybean. This means that it takes 10 times more land for soybean to produce the same amount of oil as palm. Moreover, palm oil farming can be made sustainable, with about 19 percent of palm production already considered sustainable.
Over 85 percent of the global supply comes from 17 million hectares in Malaysia and Indonesia.
If we look at oil production alone, 10 hectares of soybean farms in the U.S. or Europe can be converted back to the forest that it once was for every hectare of forest in Malaysia or Indonesia that was converted to a palm oil farm.
Not only would this be a very effective way to maintain oil production, it would also aid at fighting global warming by increasing carbon sequestration in the newly created forests in the U.S., Germany, France and England, while providing much-needed sanctuaries to the people of these countries. Pulse NewsKR
----------
EU’s deforestation regulations discriminatory against Sarawak’s indigenous planters, violating human rights
MIRI (March 7): The Sarawak Dayak Oil Palm Planters Association (Doppa) has accused the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) in the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) of being discriminatory against the Dayak community and other indigenous groups in the state as well as violating human rights.
In a statement, Doppa president Napolean Ningkos said the EU’s deforestation regulations and CSDDD have prevented the Dayak community and other indigenous groups in Sarawak from achieving socioeconomic progress.
“The CSDDD is making its way up the legislative chain in the EU and is expected to become legally binding for all companies that import goods into the EU market.
“The core purpose of CSDDD is to ensure that European imports do not cause or link to deforestation in countries that produce palm oil, cocoa, coffee, rubber, and other commodities,” he said.
Napolean said indigenous people have the right to develop their ancestral lands as approved by the state government under the Native Territorial Domain (NTD) Land Code of Sarawak. The Borneo Post
|
|
|
March 07, 2023
Malaysia-All-out war against anti-oil palm campaign
PETALING JAYA: The government is working with plantation industry players to counter the negative campaign against palm oil, deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof said today.
“The unfair narrative by the EU to create a negative perception of palm oil amounts to a trade barrier,” he said.
Fadillah, who is also plantation and commodities minister, said Malaysia is joining forces with other palm oil producing countries to ensure that there is no gross misrepresentation.
“It is important for palm oil producing nations to highlight measures we have taken to dispel any misconception about palm oil,” he said in reference to the European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR).
The EUDR is a drive introduced in November 2021 to limit deforestation caused by the consumption of agricultural commodities and products around the world.
Fadillah, who was speaking at the 2023 palm and lauric oils conference and exhibition here, said Malaysian palm oil producers, on their part, should also ensure that their production process does not have a negative impact on the environment.
“It is pertinent for us to continue to support the production of sustainable palm oil under the Malaysian sustainable palm oil (MSPO) certification scheme,” he said. Daily ExpressMY
----------
Asian palm oil buyers seek stable export policies from producers
KUALA LUMPUR — The Asian Palm Oil Alliance (APOP), a body of palm oil buyers, want producing countries to make sure they have stable export policies after changes last year caused volatility in the trading of the tropical oil, the head of the group said.
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka are currently members of the APOP and the alliance wants to add more buyers, Atul Chaturvedi, the APOP chairman, said at the annual meeting of member countries in Kuala Lumpur late on Monday.
Importing countries have built refineries to process crude palm oil, but producers are imposing higher export duties on crude palm oil than for refined and making the buying of refined palm oil cheaper than the crude grade, Chaturvedi said.
“The higher duty on crude palm oil is keeping refineries idle in importing countries. Producers need to think about this duty structure, which is hurting buyers,” he said.
Dorab Mistry, the director of Indian consumer goods company Godrej International, told the gathering that key producers Indonesia and Malaysia need to realize that Asian countries are their most trusted buyers and that they make purchases without creating trouble for the industry. Financial Post
----------
India's palm oil imports could jump to 4-year high on lower prices - industry official
KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 (Reuters) - India's palm oil imports could jump 16% in 2022/23 to a four-year high of 9.17 million tonnes, as consumption is set to jump after two years of contraction due to COVID-led lockdowns, a senior industry official told Reuters on Tuesday.
Higher purchases by the world's biggest importer of vegetable oils could lend further support to palm oil futures , which are trading near their highest level in four months.
"Consumption fell for two straight years because of the pandemic. This year, it would rebound by about 5% as restrictions have eased and prices have fallen," said Sudhakar Desai, president of the Indian Vegetable Oil Producers' Association. Reuters
----------
India considers raising palm oil import tax to help rapeseed farmers
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI, March 6 (Reuters) - India, the world's biggest importer of vegetable oils, is considering raising its import duty on palm oil to help support local farmers reeling from a crash in domestic rapeseed prices, government and industry officials said on Monday.
The increase in the tax on palm oil could lift local prices, making the tropical oil a little less competitive than rival soyoil and sunflower oil.
"We have proposed an increase in import duty on palm oil to support rapeseed prices," said a government official, who declined to be named in line with official rules.
"Rapeseed supplies from the new season are putting pressure on prices, which have fallen below MSP (minimum support price)," said the source referring to the government-set rate which acts like a benchmark for the domestic market.
If commodity prices fall below MSPs, the government usually tries to help prop up rates to protect farmers. Reuters
----------
RISING CONSUMPTION TO SHIELD PALM OIL FROM EU DEFORESTATION LAW - ANALYST FRY
KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 (Reuters) - The European Union's deforestation law is unlikely to have a meaningful impact on demand for Southeast Asian palm oil as the surplus is shrinking amid rising consumption from developing countries, a leading industry analyst said on Monday.
The EU in December agreed a deforestation law that requires companies to produce a due diligence statement and provide "verifiable" information that commodities, including oil palm, were not grown on land deforested after 2020, or risk hefty fines.
The regulation has been welcomed by environmentalists as an important step to protect forests, but palm oil producers have accused the EU of blocking market access for the edible oil.
James Fry, chairman of commodities consultancy LMC International, told Reuters the regulation could reduce import demand in the EU, but the surplus will be absorbed by buyers such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and African countries.
"There is not enough palm to meet all the markets, and India would be very happy if the EU's deforestation law meant there was more palm oil for India," Fry said in an interview. Successful Farming/ Reuters
Malaysia-All-out war against anti-oil palm campaign
PETALING JAYA: The government is working with plantation industry players to counter the negative campaign against palm oil, deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof said today.
“The unfair narrative by the EU to create a negative perception of palm oil amounts to a trade barrier,” he said.
Fadillah, who is also plantation and commodities minister, said Malaysia is joining forces with other palm oil producing countries to ensure that there is no gross misrepresentation.
“It is important for palm oil producing nations to highlight measures we have taken to dispel any misconception about palm oil,” he said in reference to the European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR).
The EUDR is a drive introduced in November 2021 to limit deforestation caused by the consumption of agricultural commodities and products around the world.
Fadillah, who was speaking at the 2023 palm and lauric oils conference and exhibition here, said Malaysian palm oil producers, on their part, should also ensure that their production process does not have a negative impact on the environment.
“It is pertinent for us to continue to support the production of sustainable palm oil under the Malaysian sustainable palm oil (MSPO) certification scheme,” he said. Daily ExpressMY
----------
Asian palm oil buyers seek stable export policies from producers
KUALA LUMPUR — The Asian Palm Oil Alliance (APOP), a body of palm oil buyers, want producing countries to make sure they have stable export policies after changes last year caused volatility in the trading of the tropical oil, the head of the group said.
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka are currently members of the APOP and the alliance wants to add more buyers, Atul Chaturvedi, the APOP chairman, said at the annual meeting of member countries in Kuala Lumpur late on Monday.
Importing countries have built refineries to process crude palm oil, but producers are imposing higher export duties on crude palm oil than for refined and making the buying of refined palm oil cheaper than the crude grade, Chaturvedi said.
“The higher duty on crude palm oil is keeping refineries idle in importing countries. Producers need to think about this duty structure, which is hurting buyers,” he said.
Dorab Mistry, the director of Indian consumer goods company Godrej International, told the gathering that key producers Indonesia and Malaysia need to realize that Asian countries are their most trusted buyers and that they make purchases without creating trouble for the industry. Financial Post
----------
India's palm oil imports could jump to 4-year high on lower prices - industry official
KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 (Reuters) - India's palm oil imports could jump 16% in 2022/23 to a four-year high of 9.17 million tonnes, as consumption is set to jump after two years of contraction due to COVID-led lockdowns, a senior industry official told Reuters on Tuesday.
Higher purchases by the world's biggest importer of vegetable oils could lend further support to palm oil futures , which are trading near their highest level in four months.
"Consumption fell for two straight years because of the pandemic. This year, it would rebound by about 5% as restrictions have eased and prices have fallen," said Sudhakar Desai, president of the Indian Vegetable Oil Producers' Association. Reuters
----------
India considers raising palm oil import tax to help rapeseed farmers
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI, March 6 (Reuters) - India, the world's biggest importer of vegetable oils, is considering raising its import duty on palm oil to help support local farmers reeling from a crash in domestic rapeseed prices, government and industry officials said on Monday.
The increase in the tax on palm oil could lift local prices, making the tropical oil a little less competitive than rival soyoil and sunflower oil.
"We have proposed an increase in import duty on palm oil to support rapeseed prices," said a government official, who declined to be named in line with official rules.
"Rapeseed supplies from the new season are putting pressure on prices, which have fallen below MSP (minimum support price)," said the source referring to the government-set rate which acts like a benchmark for the domestic market.
If commodity prices fall below MSPs, the government usually tries to help prop up rates to protect farmers. Reuters
----------
RISING CONSUMPTION TO SHIELD PALM OIL FROM EU DEFORESTATION LAW - ANALYST FRY
KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 (Reuters) - The European Union's deforestation law is unlikely to have a meaningful impact on demand for Southeast Asian palm oil as the surplus is shrinking amid rising consumption from developing countries, a leading industry analyst said on Monday.
The EU in December agreed a deforestation law that requires companies to produce a due diligence statement and provide "verifiable" information that commodities, including oil palm, were not grown on land deforested after 2020, or risk hefty fines.
The regulation has been welcomed by environmentalists as an important step to protect forests, but palm oil producers have accused the EU of blocking market access for the edible oil.
James Fry, chairman of commodities consultancy LMC International, told Reuters the regulation could reduce import demand in the EU, but the surplus will be absorbed by buyers such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and African countries.
"There is not enough palm to meet all the markets, and India would be very happy if the EU's deforestation law meant there was more palm oil for India," Fry said in an interview. Successful Farming/ Reuters
|
|
|
March 06, 2023
India-Demand for Malaysian palm oil to rise to 19.85 million tonnes, says vegetable oil association
DEMAND for Malaysia’s palm oil is forecast to notch higher to 19.85 million tonnes this year from 19.01 million tonnes in 2022 as exports are set to grow to 16.44 million tonnes from 15.73 million tonnes previously.
Other demands are expected to come from domestic (2.98 million tonnes) and usage for biodiesel production (440,000 tonnes), said Indian Vegetable Oil Producers’ Association president Sudhakar Desai.
Stronger export demand mostly from India, and a shift in palm oil demand from Indonesia to Malaysia due to the country’s export restrictions will help raise demand and clear some stocks from Malaysia.
Malaysia’s end-2023 stock is likely to be at 4.33 million tonnes, higher than last year’s 4.22 million tonnes, while overall production expected to grow moderately by 2.6% to 18.95 million tonnes this year.
‘’It’s not a big growth. Production has been stagnant for Malaysia,’’ he said during UOB Kay Hian’s palm oil webinar today.
Combined Malaysia-Indonesia production is expected to reach 68.72 million tonnes in 2023, with exports at 44.63 million tonnes.
Indonesia will supply 57.09 million tonnes of palm oil to total production figures. The Malaysian Insight
----------
India-Demand for Malaysian palm oil to rise to 19.85 million tonnes, says vegetable oil association
DEMAND for Malaysia’s palm oil is forecast to notch higher to 19.85 million tonnes this year from 19.01 million tonnes in 2022 as exports are set to grow to 16.44 million tonnes from 15.73 million tonnes previously.
Other demands are expected to come from domestic (2.98 million tonnes) and usage for biodiesel production (440,000 tonnes), said Indian Vegetable Oil Producers’ Association president Sudhakar Desai.
Stronger export demand mostly from India, and a shift in palm oil demand from Indonesia to Malaysia due to the country’s export restrictions will help raise demand and clear some stocks from Malaysia.
Malaysia’s end-2023 stock is likely to be at 4.33 million tonnes, higher than last year’s 4.22 million tonnes, while overall production expected to grow moderately by 2.6% to 18.95 million tonnes this year.
‘’It’s not a big growth. Production has been stagnant for Malaysia,’’ he said during UOB Kay Hian’s palm oil webinar today.
Combined Malaysia-Indonesia production is expected to reach 68.72 million tonnes in 2023, with exports at 44.63 million tonnes.
Indonesia will supply 57.09 million tonnes of palm oil to total production figures. The Malaysian Insight
----------
March 04, 2023
JGC : MOU on Joint Study of Sustainable Palm Oil Industry Development in Malaysia
JGC Holdings Corporation and Japan NUS (JANUS) have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Malaysian natural gas sales, marketing, and distribution company Gas Malaysia Bhd (GMB) for joint study of sustainable domestic palm oil industry development through effective utilization of unused resources from palm oil milling in the country.
Malaysia is the world's second largest producer of palm oil after Indonesia. Palm oil is a useful product, whether as a cooking oil or an ingredient in cosmetics and many other daily necessities, but palm oil mill effluent and empty fruit bunches (POME and EFB, respectively) from the production process emit large amounts of methane gas, which is said to have a greenhouse effect 25 times that of CO2. This environmental issue hampers the country's efforts toward carbon neutrality. Another challenge is that the palm oil industry discards thinned wood, waste wood, and other potential raw materials for biocrude oil or biochemicals without using it.
This project will study the feasibility of converting the methane sources of POME and EFB into biomethane fuel and pellet fuel through recovery and processing. Potential biocrude oil and biochemical applications for thinned and waste wood will also be investigated. Participants intend to contribute to sustainability in the palm oil industry through effective utilization of the unused resources generated by the industry, with another goal being reduction of Scope 1 CO2 emissions by energy and biofuel consumers. Market Screener
----------
European Union-Mercosur Trade Agreement Depends on Environmental Commitments and Stricter Text, Says MEP
In January, during a visit by German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz to Brasília, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) said he hoped to conclude the trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur by mid-2023.
The treaty, proposed more than 20 years ago, was only signed in June 2019, during the Bolsonaro government, but it was never ratified, due to a series of obstacles, in particular Brazil's setbacks in the socio-environmental agenda.
For the German MEP Anna Cavazzini, vice-chair of the delegation for relations with Brazil and chair of the committee on the internal market, before the text becomes effective, it will need a revision that guarantees stricter commitments with the environment. UOL BR
----------
Indonesia to scrap pandemic-era trading restrictions at end-March: regulator
INDONESIA’S financial services authority will ease some pandemic-era rules for the stock market, including on trading hours and short-selling, it said in a letter to investors.
The agency known as OJK had imposed the temporary rules at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 to protect the market against volatility.
Inarno Djajadi, head of capital markets supervision at OJK said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters on Friday (Mar 3), that the regulator will not extend the rules beyond the end of this month as the government removed all coronavirus-related mobility restrictions late last year. Business TimesSG
JGC : MOU on Joint Study of Sustainable Palm Oil Industry Development in Malaysia
JGC Holdings Corporation and Japan NUS (JANUS) have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Malaysian natural gas sales, marketing, and distribution company Gas Malaysia Bhd (GMB) for joint study of sustainable domestic palm oil industry development through effective utilization of unused resources from palm oil milling in the country.
Malaysia is the world's second largest producer of palm oil after Indonesia. Palm oil is a useful product, whether as a cooking oil or an ingredient in cosmetics and many other daily necessities, but palm oil mill effluent and empty fruit bunches (POME and EFB, respectively) from the production process emit large amounts of methane gas, which is said to have a greenhouse effect 25 times that of CO2. This environmental issue hampers the country's efforts toward carbon neutrality. Another challenge is that the palm oil industry discards thinned wood, waste wood, and other potential raw materials for biocrude oil or biochemicals without using it.
This project will study the feasibility of converting the methane sources of POME and EFB into biomethane fuel and pellet fuel through recovery and processing. Potential biocrude oil and biochemical applications for thinned and waste wood will also be investigated. Participants intend to contribute to sustainability in the palm oil industry through effective utilization of the unused resources generated by the industry, with another goal being reduction of Scope 1 CO2 emissions by energy and biofuel consumers. Market Screener
----------
European Union-Mercosur Trade Agreement Depends on Environmental Commitments and Stricter Text, Says MEP
In January, during a visit by German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz to Brasília, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) said he hoped to conclude the trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur by mid-2023.
The treaty, proposed more than 20 years ago, was only signed in June 2019, during the Bolsonaro government, but it was never ratified, due to a series of obstacles, in particular Brazil's setbacks in the socio-environmental agenda.
For the German MEP Anna Cavazzini, vice-chair of the delegation for relations with Brazil and chair of the committee on the internal market, before the text becomes effective, it will need a revision that guarantees stricter commitments with the environment. UOL BR
----------
Indonesia to scrap pandemic-era trading restrictions at end-March: regulator
INDONESIA’S financial services authority will ease some pandemic-era rules for the stock market, including on trading hours and short-selling, it said in a letter to investors.
The agency known as OJK had imposed the temporary rules at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 to protect the market against volatility.
Inarno Djajadi, head of capital markets supervision at OJK said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters on Friday (Mar 3), that the regulator will not extend the rules beyond the end of this month as the government removed all coronavirus-related mobility restrictions late last year. Business TimesSG
|
|
|
March 02, 2023
Malaysia-CONCERNS REMAIN ON EU DEFORESTATION REGULATION AFTER BRIEFING FROM EU OFFICIALS
Petaling Jaya – The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) participated in a Virtual Engagement Session on the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), hosted by the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM). Officials from the EU’s DG Environment and the EU Embassy in Jakarta participated in the briefing, alongside Malaysian business and stakeholder groups.
MPOC remains open to engagement and consultation with the European Union and appreciates the effort of outreach by the EU Commission, and the EU Embassy. However, no commitment was forthcoming on key concerns that have been set out by the Malaysian Government and MPOC, particularly on the subject of defining the criteria and mechanism of the country benchmarking system, as well as details on how technical and financial support will be provided to the producing countries’ small farmers, who are the most vulnerable community affected by the Regulation.
MPOC CEO, Belvinder Sron said “MPOC will continue to support the positions of the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities, including that the European Union must provide written confirmation that Malaysia will not be labelled ‘High Risk’. This is pertinent in the interest of our small farmers and companies.
“Malaysia’s track record on forest protection and sustainable production is clear. Malaysian palm oil is one of the most–certified vegetable oils in the world today. The Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) standard already guarantees Malaysia’s commitment to comprehensive sustainability standards,” she added. MPOC
-----------
Commission trade chief: EU cannot only trade with ‘like-minded countries’
Europe must strengthen its network of free trade agreements (FTAs) beyond liberal democracies, Sabine Weyand, head of the European Commission’s trade unit (DG TRADE) said in Berlin on Tuesday (28 February).
It is not only security policy that has gone through a ‘Zeitenwende’ – or turning point – but also trade policy, Weyand said.
However, this was not mostly due to the Russian aggression in Ukraine, but long-term trends, she continued, citing tensions between the USA and China, fragmentation of supply chains as well as a broader systemic competition between liberal democracies and autocratic regimes.
“We need reliable partners,” Weyand said at a Berlin conference on ‘greening trade policy’, adding that “reliable does not mean ‘like-minded'”.
“The west against the rest” would not be a solution, she said, as the “club of liberal democracies is just too small” – there would simply not be enough trading partners.
A fragmentation of global trade would also “not be the right strategy to solve our political problems”, Weyand continued. EURACTIV
-----------
MITI: CPTPP will not negatively impact Malaysia's agro sector
KUALA LUMPUR: The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will not negatively impact the country's agricultural sector.
Deputy Trade and Industry Minister (MITI) Liew Chin Tong said the agreement, which came into effect for Malaysia in November last year could guarantee the rights and interests of local farmers as it was the only free trade agreement (FTA) signed by Malaysia to recognise food security issues.
"Accusations, where the agreement does not allow the government to implement the ban on basic food products export such as chicken, were not true.
"Instead, the government has the right to implement a temporary ban on the export of food products to ensure it is sufficient for the people," he said in Dewan Rakyat, today. New Straits Times
Malaysia-CONCERNS REMAIN ON EU DEFORESTATION REGULATION AFTER BRIEFING FROM EU OFFICIALS
Petaling Jaya – The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) participated in a Virtual Engagement Session on the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), hosted by the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM). Officials from the EU’s DG Environment and the EU Embassy in Jakarta participated in the briefing, alongside Malaysian business and stakeholder groups.
MPOC remains open to engagement and consultation with the European Union and appreciates the effort of outreach by the EU Commission, and the EU Embassy. However, no commitment was forthcoming on key concerns that have been set out by the Malaysian Government and MPOC, particularly on the subject of defining the criteria and mechanism of the country benchmarking system, as well as details on how technical and financial support will be provided to the producing countries’ small farmers, who are the most vulnerable community affected by the Regulation.
MPOC CEO, Belvinder Sron said “MPOC will continue to support the positions of the Ministry of Plantation and Commodities, including that the European Union must provide written confirmation that Malaysia will not be labelled ‘High Risk’. This is pertinent in the interest of our small farmers and companies.
“Malaysia’s track record on forest protection and sustainable production is clear. Malaysian palm oil is one of the most–certified vegetable oils in the world today. The Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) standard already guarantees Malaysia’s commitment to comprehensive sustainability standards,” she added. MPOC
-----------
Commission trade chief: EU cannot only trade with ‘like-minded countries’
Europe must strengthen its network of free trade agreements (FTAs) beyond liberal democracies, Sabine Weyand, head of the European Commission’s trade unit (DG TRADE) said in Berlin on Tuesday (28 February).
It is not only security policy that has gone through a ‘Zeitenwende’ – or turning point – but also trade policy, Weyand said.
However, this was not mostly due to the Russian aggression in Ukraine, but long-term trends, she continued, citing tensions between the USA and China, fragmentation of supply chains as well as a broader systemic competition between liberal democracies and autocratic regimes.
“We need reliable partners,” Weyand said at a Berlin conference on ‘greening trade policy’, adding that “reliable does not mean ‘like-minded'”.
“The west against the rest” would not be a solution, she said, as the “club of liberal democracies is just too small” – there would simply not be enough trading partners.
A fragmentation of global trade would also “not be the right strategy to solve our political problems”, Weyand continued. EURACTIV
-----------
MITI: CPTPP will not negatively impact Malaysia's agro sector
KUALA LUMPUR: The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will not negatively impact the country's agricultural sector.
Deputy Trade and Industry Minister (MITI) Liew Chin Tong said the agreement, which came into effect for Malaysia in November last year could guarantee the rights and interests of local farmers as it was the only free trade agreement (FTA) signed by Malaysia to recognise food security issues.
"Accusations, where the agreement does not allow the government to implement the ban on basic food products export such as chicken, were not true.
"Instead, the government has the right to implement a temporary ban on the export of food products to ensure it is sufficient for the people," he said in Dewan Rakyat, today. New Straits Times
March 01, 2023
Bioeconomy: EU is moving towards its goals, but environmental challenges persist
A new assessment of the EU bioeconomy shows that while resource efficiency is improving, there’s a growing pressure on ecosystems from forestry and agriculture.
The bioeconomy covers all sectors and systems that rely on biological resources. An assessment of the progress and the trends in the EU bioeconomy, carried out by the JRC, confirms the findings of the EU Bioeconomy Progress Report that a better policy coordination is needed to tackle the multiple pressures on land from biomass demand.
This indicates a need for both a reduction in consumption on the one hand, and on the other, a push to innovate and re-skill the workforce to achieve more efficient production and improve recovery and re-use of biomass.
The assessment, Trends in the bioeconomy, is the first of a series based on the EU Bioeconomy Monitoring System, developed by the JRC to track economic, environmental and social progress towards a sustainable bioeconomy. The monitoring system and reporting is a JRC-led action of the EU’s updated 2018 bioeconomy strategy. JRC Europa
----------
India-Edible oil import cost slumps, but dependence continues
Most parts of state are dependent on Malaysia and Indonesia for palm oil, and Chicago and Ukraine for sunflower oil.
BENGALURU: Even after a year of the Ukraine-Russia war, the dependence on Ukraine for oil continues, especially sunflower oil. According to the oil and oil seeds association, the quality and quantity of oil being imported have not changed. However, the rate of edible oil has reduced. Earlier, edible oil was being imported at Rs 1,600 per 10kg, which has now reduced to Rs 1,135 per 10kg, said the members.
Experts and association members said that although many local companies started manufacturing and sale of edible and cold pressed oil, they comprise only one per cent of the market share. Therefore, the dependence on import of palm and sunflower oil continues. New Indian Express
-----------
Indonesian palm oil tycoon fined record $3.71b, first graft penalty based on losses to economy
JAKARTA - An Indonesian court has sentenced palm oil tycoon Surya Darmadi to 15 years in prison and fined him a record 41.9 trillion rupiah (S$3.71 billion) – the first time a penalty for corruption was determined based on losses to the economy, on top of losses to the state.
The owner of Duta Palma group has been convicted of corruption, money laundering and tax evasion. He had bribed officials in Sumatra to allow his companies to grow oil palm trees on land previously declared as natural forest, and on land that his companies did not have proper permits to cultivate. The total area of land involved is more than 36,000ha.
Surya, 71, has been ordered to pay 2.2 trillion rupiah for inflicting losses from potential taxes and other income that the state could have received from plantation companies with proper permits. He also has to pay another 39.7 trillion rupiah for losses to the economy as a result of his action, according to the Feb 23 verdict. Straits Times
Bioeconomy: EU is moving towards its goals, but environmental challenges persist
A new assessment of the EU bioeconomy shows that while resource efficiency is improving, there’s a growing pressure on ecosystems from forestry and agriculture.
The bioeconomy covers all sectors and systems that rely on biological resources. An assessment of the progress and the trends in the EU bioeconomy, carried out by the JRC, confirms the findings of the EU Bioeconomy Progress Report that a better policy coordination is needed to tackle the multiple pressures on land from biomass demand.
This indicates a need for both a reduction in consumption on the one hand, and on the other, a push to innovate and re-skill the workforce to achieve more efficient production and improve recovery and re-use of biomass.
The assessment, Trends in the bioeconomy, is the first of a series based on the EU Bioeconomy Monitoring System, developed by the JRC to track economic, environmental and social progress towards a sustainable bioeconomy. The monitoring system and reporting is a JRC-led action of the EU’s updated 2018 bioeconomy strategy. JRC Europa
----------
India-Edible oil import cost slumps, but dependence continues
Most parts of state are dependent on Malaysia and Indonesia for palm oil, and Chicago and Ukraine for sunflower oil.
BENGALURU: Even after a year of the Ukraine-Russia war, the dependence on Ukraine for oil continues, especially sunflower oil. According to the oil and oil seeds association, the quality and quantity of oil being imported have not changed. However, the rate of edible oil has reduced. Earlier, edible oil was being imported at Rs 1,600 per 10kg, which has now reduced to Rs 1,135 per 10kg, said the members.
Experts and association members said that although many local companies started manufacturing and sale of edible and cold pressed oil, they comprise only one per cent of the market share. Therefore, the dependence on import of palm and sunflower oil continues. New Indian Express
-----------
Indonesian palm oil tycoon fined record $3.71b, first graft penalty based on losses to economy
JAKARTA - An Indonesian court has sentenced palm oil tycoon Surya Darmadi to 15 years in prison and fined him a record 41.9 trillion rupiah (S$3.71 billion) – the first time a penalty for corruption was determined based on losses to the economy, on top of losses to the state.
The owner of Duta Palma group has been convicted of corruption, money laundering and tax evasion. He had bribed officials in Sumatra to allow his companies to grow oil palm trees on land previously declared as natural forest, and on land that his companies did not have proper permits to cultivate. The total area of land involved is more than 36,000ha.
Surya, 71, has been ordered to pay 2.2 trillion rupiah for inflicting losses from potential taxes and other income that the state could have received from plantation companies with proper permits. He also has to pay another 39.7 trillion rupiah for losses to the economy as a result of his action, according to the Feb 23 verdict. Straits Times
|
|
|
March 2023. CSPO Watch