Headline news on palm oil. May 2020

​
Read curated news that impacts the palm oil industry globally.
​
CSPO Watch News. Making it easy for you to follow the palm oil industry

Japan - Indonesian and Malaysian exports of palm kernel shells (PKS) to Japan increased on the year in January-March, as new dedicated biomass power plants began commercial operations in the country at the beginning of this year. ArgusMedia

Ghana - Minerals Commission is making moves to distribute over one million oil palm seedlings starting July this year to farmers in mining communities to discourage illegal mining and provide sustainable livelihoods to the communities impacted by mining. GhanaWeb

Malaysia - Better Malaysia-India ties to boost crude palm oil prices
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Crude palm oil prices may rise to 2,300-2,400 ringgit ($528.37-$551.34) per tonnne in the coming months as Malaysia's relationship with top importer India improves, industry regulator the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) said on Wednesday. YahooFinance

EU - Is Russia weaponising its position as a vital food supplier to the European Nations?
It would effectively mean the EU, not just depending on Russian energy, but increasingly also on Russian food supply. And considering Russia's track record of weaponising energy as a political tool against the EU, it's a prospect that bodes badly for long-term EU food security. EUobserver

India - After Souring Relations Through Border Dispute, Nepal Seeks Access To Indian Palm Oil, Tea Markets
While Nepal, on one hand, has objected to India inaugurating a road through Lipu Lekh Pass, which it claims to be its territory, it wants access to India’s markets on the other. SwarajyaMag

India - Nepal asks India to resume export of tea and palm oil in Indian market.
KATHMANDU, May 25: Nepal government has asked Indian government to allow Nepali traders to export tea and refined palm oil in the Indian market.  MyRepublica

India - NEW DELHI: As India's 2010 pact with Malaysia and Indonesia came to an end, trade body SEA on Monday said the government should hike customs duty on soya, sunflower and crude palm oils and encourage domestic production.

The Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA) also urged the government to ban the import of refined palm oils or palmolien in order to encourage domestic production. NewIndianExpress

Nigeria - Palm biofuel, agro-based pharmaceuticals, others can replace petroleum, says Ikuenobe.
Oil palm can fetch Nigeria as much revenue as the crude oil can, so said the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele. But self-inflicted challenges that de-ranked the country from the largest producer in the pre-independence era to the fifth producer are getting compounded by insecurity and land tenure system, among others. TheGuardianNG

Tanzania - PM urges farmers to get ready for massive oil palm cultivation.
DAR ES SALAAM, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Saturday that the east African nation will start engaging in massive cultivation of oil palm from October to end importation of edible oils. XinHuaNet

Italy - Eni to phase out palm oil and product use by 2023
Published: 22 May 2020 10:34 AM

Oil major and renewable diesel producer Eni said is reviewing its supply chain with the aim to eliminate the use of palm oil and its derivative palm fatty acid distillate by 2023. AgraNet

India. Exclusive: India resumes purchases of Malaysian palm oil - traders.
MUMBAI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Indian buyers have resumed purchases of Malaysian palm oil after a four-month gap following a diplomatic row, with buying spurred by a fall in domestic inventories and discounted prices, trade sources said.
REUTERS

India. Malaysia to strengthen trade ties with India after palm oil purchases
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia voiced its commitment to further strengthen diplomatic and trade ties with India, after the world’s largest edible oil buyer renewed purchases of Malaysian palm oil, in a sign of improving relations between the two countries. REUTERSIndia

CPOPC. KUALA LUMPUR (May 20): The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodity held a meeting with the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) yesterday where they discussed various issues related to the palm oil industry. TheEdgeMarkets

Malaysia. ​KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - When Shell engineer Incham Serdin quit his job four years ago to start a small palm plantation in his native Malaysia, prices of the fleshy fruit bunches used to make the world’s most-consumed vegetable oil were bubbling near their peak. REUTERS

Ghana. ​The Oil Palm Development Association of Ghana (OPDAG) Executives and the entire value chain actors of the oil palm sector, have hailed Government’s exemption of palm oil from 50 per cent benchmark value for customs duty assessment. GhanaWeb

Sri Lanka. A well-established palm oil industry in the country while having a vast potential for import substitution could also be used for export development, Wayamba University Emeritus Professor Asoka Nugawela told Sunday Observer Business last week. SundayObserver
​*For background information on Sri Lanka, read our interview with Professor Asoka Nugela. Click here

Nepal. Nepal's lucrative palm oil exports to India could hit a setback as the southern neighbour has suspended all import licences besides imposing stringent trade measures in a bid to check cheap imports and protect domestic industry, Indian media reports said.
KathmanduPost

India. Hyderabad: The no-stock-limits and deregulation of cereal, edible oils, oil seeds, pulses, onions and potatoes announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her third tranche of the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package on Friday, was welcomed by traders in Telangana. TelanganaToday

Thailand. The Energy Ministry has ordered the Energy Business Department to discuss with Thai oil traders the prospect of using blockchain to facilitate palm oil trade.A blockchain system would cut out the middleman between palm planters and palm oil mills, in theory allowing planters to sell the commodity at higher prices. BangkokPost

Thailand. Blockchain technology to ensure fairness in trading of crude palm oil
The Department of Energy Business (DOEB) is promoting the use of blockchain technology in crude palm oil trading to prevent price fluctuations and ensure fairness. NationThailand

Indonesia weighing subsidy options to support biodiesel programme.
JAKARTA (Reuters) - The Indonesian government is considering alternate plans to increase subsidies for the country’s ambitious biodiesel programme after crude oil prices tumbled, a finance ministry official said on Wednesday. Reuters

New Zealand. Cattle farmers nationwide are urged to ensure they secure winter feed to avoid facing feed shortages and the southern region is no different, says DairyNZ's Southland/South Otago regional leader Ollie Knowles.
NZHerald

Malaysia. KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — Oil palm yield and by-products can be enhanced by 23 per cent from 19 per cent through upgrading and improving the technology at the plantation and production level, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB). MalayMail

Malaysia. Palm oil industry eyes workers from Bangladesh. 
KUALA LUMPUR (May 12): The Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) has appealed to the government to approve the recruitment of more workers from Bangladesh due to the labour shortage in the industry. TheEdgeMarkets

India. India has suspended 39 licences to import 452,303 tonnes of refined palm oil after a surge in duty-free purchases from neighbours such as Nepal and Bangladesh which are not key producers, government and trade sources told Reuters. SmartInvestor

India. Edible oil trade body SEA on Monday asked the government to ban import of refined palm oil, fix tariff value on sunflower oil and monitor illegal shipments from Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to protect local processing industry.
DeccanHerald

Indonesia. Proposed new regulations for the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil-ISPO scheme questioned. Indepth report from Tempo examines all the key issues, especially on human rights and traceability for Indonesian palm oil. Tempo

Guatemala. Palm oil plantations are under pressure to prove they're sustainable — but the process can have devastating effects on local communities and the plantations themselves. Special report on palm oil in Guatemala from BusinessInsider

Sri Lanka. Oil palm industry not understood or utilized to potential. An opinion by Professor Asoka Nugawela. DailyMirrorLK

Nigeria plans to invest 180 billion naira ($500 million) to increase its palm oil production from around 600,000 tons a year to 5 million tons a year by 2027, reports Bloomberg. Naija247News

India. ​KUALA LUMPUR (May 8): FGV Holdings Bhd is partnering with Indian company Pre Unique Pvt Ltd (PreU) to establish a direct presence in the Indian market. TheEdgeMarkets

Press release. CHICAGO, Ill., May 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mondelēz International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ) today published its 2019 Snacking Made Right Report, highlighting the company’s significant progress towards achieving its 2025 sustainable and mindful snacking goals. 

Indonesia. JAKARTA — Activists in Indonesia have filed a legal challenge to stop legislation that would dismantle environmental protections in favor of facilitating business. Mongabay

Indonesia. The deadly duo of haze and Covid19. The Regent of Sintang district in West Kalimantan has approved the use of burning to regenerate farming areas. Restrictions on burning as 2 hectares per farm and not more than 20 hectares per village per day. KOMPAS

Global (Opinion) Wilmar, one of the world’s biggest palm oil companies, left a coalition that aims to reduce carbon emissions and deforestation, citing management problems. Now the firm’s commitment to sustainability is cast further into doubt. ASEANToday

Indonesia. JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia’s ministry of economic affairs is set to discuss how the country will continue its ambitious biodiesel programme, a ministry official told Reuters on Wednesday. ​Reuters

Malaysia. ​KUCHING: The federal government is actively increasing its efforts to draw more people, especially Sarawakians, to participate in the oil palm industry to improve their income. BorneoPost

Nigeria. Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State Tuesday, May 5, 2020, embarked on an inspection visit to ADAPALM, the Palm Oil Producing Industry of the state, expressing confidence the place can employ 35,000 persons if fully revived. Encomium

Malaysia Criticises WHO's Advice Against Palm Oil During Coronavirus
​KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia criticised the World Health Organisation on Monday for advising adults to avoid palm oil in their diet during the COVID-19 outbreak and use alternatives such as olive oil. NewYorkTimes

WHO must retract misleading info on palm oil
Malaysia, May 5 - The recent dietary advisory published by the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (WHO EMRO) advising people not to consume palm oil during the Covid-19 pandemic stating it contains saturated fats is a terribly misleading advisory which will jeopardise WHO's authoritative standing on health and nutrition in the global community. NewStraitsTimes

Jakarta, May 5 - Indonesia will likely face a "drier than usual" dry season in key agricultural regions this year, President Jokowi Widodo said on Tuesday, adding that measures must be put in place to ensure food security and price stability.
​​Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 (Reuters) - Malaysia’s Sime Darby Plantation, the world’s largest palm oil planter by land size, warned that a prolonged coronavirus pandemic would further disrupt the palm oil supply chain. ​Reuters

India, May 5 - Palm oil purchases by India will probably plummet to the lowest level in nine years as the closing of restaurants and hotels to contain the spread of coronavirus cut demand for the most-consumed vegetable. Bloomberg

Malaysia looks to blockchain technology to build traceability and trust in its palm oil by proving its commitment to transparent, sustainable and responsible supply chains. FoodNavigatorAsia

Malaysia criticises WHO's advice against palm oil during coronavirus. 
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia criticised the World Health Organisation on Monday for advising adults to avoid palm oil in their diet during the COVID-19 outbreak and use alternatives such as olive oil. Reuters

Nigeria. Covid19. Coalition challenges government to embrace home grown solutions.
The Transform Nigeria Citizens Initiative, Concerned Nigerians Forum and Governance Index have tasked the Federal, State and Local Governments across the country to look inward and solve the economic challenges presented to Nigeria by the coronavirus pandemic and drop in oil price. TheEagleOnline

Sierra Leone - West Africa Competitiveness Program (WACOMP) working towards diversification of economy away from mining to agriculture including cocoa, cassava and palm oil. Supported by the EU under the 11th European Development Fund, the overall objective is to reinforce competitiveness of West Africa. PoliticoSL

Sri Lanka -  Sri Lanka’s oil palm cultivators can provide tangible support to the government’s efforts to promote local agriculture and import substitution as a response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the national economy, the sector’s apex industry association has said. Adaderana
* For more information on the challenges faced by the palm oil industry in Sri Lanka, read CSPO Watch interview with Asoka Nugela

Sri Lanka. Confectionery industry up in arms over Govt. hike in palm oil taxes
Lanka Confectionery Manufacturers Association (LCMA) Chairman S.M.D. Suriyakumara said the taxes on Palm Oil was increased by Rs. 100 per kilo, and since there aren’t any local substitutes that can meet the demand for this product, the Confectionery industry will lose of Rs. 100 million per month. FTLK

Sri Lanka. Confectionary industry under stress due to tax increase on imported palm oil.
The recent increase of import taxes on palm oil, the  essential fat required by confectioners and bakers in Sri-Lanka, is set to cause significant stress and impose additional burdens to both the manufactures and the consumers of these products. DailyMirrorLK

Sri Lanka increased special commodity levy hikes on commodities including palm oil to stem forex loss. NewsFirstLK

---

RSPO requests support from governments to reframe the palm oil narrative

Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which promotes the use of sustainable palm oil products and which counts the likes of Nestle, Unilever, Danone and Kellogg among its members, has called for assistance from European governments in its effort to reframe ‘the palm oil narrative’. FoodNavigator

---

Solidaridad to coordinate Tropical Forest Alliance for Peru and Colombia

The alliance between Solidaridad and Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA) will promote the implementation of zero deforestation agreements in key supply chains, promoting the engagement of companies with the potential to make a sustainable impact at the regional and sector level. ​MarketScreener