Business Times

23 May, 2011

Crude palm oil (CPO) futures contracts on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives are expected to continue the uptrend next week driven by positive sentiments from the external market and export data, dealers said.

They said the uptrend would continue unless short covering occurred.

A dealer said cargo surveyors, Intertek Testing Services and Societe General de Surveillance, were scheduled to release the export data for the period of May 1-25 on May 25.

He said the higher soyaoil prices due to the bad weather in the major producers country were also expected to support CPO prices. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Star

23 May, 2011

Crude palm oil (CPO) futures contracts on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives are expected to continue the uptrend this week driven by positive sentiments from the external market and export data.

Dealers said the uptrend would continue unless short-covering occurred.

A dealer said cargo surveyors, Intertek Testing Services and Societe General de Surveillance, were scheduled to release the export data for the period of May 1-25 on May 25.

The higher soyaoil prices due to the bad weather in the major producers country were also expected to support CPO prices.

However, Jim Teh, senior trader of Interband Group of Companies, said the current prices were too high for physical traders. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Jakarta Post

23 May, 2011

Deforestation has severely ravaged Indonesia’s tropical forests, and a recently introduced moratorium on forest conversions would help reverse the trend, a senior official says.

President Susilo Bambang Yu-dhoyono’s special aide on climate change, Agus Purnomo, said illegal practices such as squatting and logging, had encroached on primary forests, leading the government to consider it necessary to give double protection to areas already under legal protection from exploitation.

“The decree will help stop such problems, as it will explicitly emphasize the duty to protect forests. With the decree, the Presidential Work Unit for Development Control and Monitoring [UKP4] will be able to issue recommendations to the president on punishing perpetrators,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »

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Science Daily

22 May, 2011

Forest fragmentation driven by demand for palm oil is having a catastrophic effect on multiple levels of biodiversity, scientists from Queen Mary, University of London have discovered.

The researchers are worried that unless steps are taken to safeguard and manage the remaining forest, then certain species will struggle to survive.

The study, which focused on bats as an indicator of environmental change, was published in the journal Ecology Letters.

The team conducted bat surveys in pristine forest and also in forest patches of varying size in central Peninsular Malaysia. They recorded the numbers of different species present and also assessed the level of genetic diversity within populations of some species. Read the rest of this entry »

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By Louise Lucas

Financial Times

22 May, 2011

For something which ends up in such simple products as soap, fish fingers and cakes, palm oil has a tortuously complex supply chain, a fact food producers cite as a significant difficulty in attempting to source the ingredient sustainably.

The world’s most prolific vegetable oil begins life on tropical plantations; some 85 per cent hails from Indonesia and Malaysia. The fruit is then transported to crushing mills, from where the crude oil is shipped to refiners and blenders for further processing and then on to manufacturers.

Multiple links in the chain mean multiple opportunities for oils from different sources to be blended – those certified as sustainable and those which are produced without adherence to environmental or human rights principles. Read the rest of this entry »

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By M.R. Subramani

The Hindu Business Line

22 May, 2011

Two and a half years ago, Mr Kumarasamy Reddiar of Vikaravandi village in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district decided to cultivate oil palm. He chose to replace paddy, casuarina and sugarcane and today, he gets 20 tonnes of fresh fruit bunch (FFB) of oil palm a year on the nine hectares.

“If this is what he gets within four years, then in the coming years he can get a higher yield compared with productivity in Malaysia,” says Mr R.R. Govindan, Vice-President, Godrej Agrovet Ltd, that helps him in cultivating the crop.

Godrej Agrovet buys the FFB from farmers such as Mr Kumarasamy and crushes them at Cauvery oil mill in Ariyalur, about 100 km away. Godrej has a majority stake in the mill owned by Cauvery Oil Palm that has been floated by Dr V. Krishnamurthy. Read the rest of this entry »

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Jakarta Globe

22 May, 2011

Although it continues to fluctuate, the average price of palm oil this year will remain higher than last year as it moves toward $900 per metric ton, an industry association says.

Derom Bangun, vice chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Board (DMSI), said here on Saturday that “the price is calculated on market demand, which remains high.”

The average price of CPO last year was $480 per metric ton.

Derom said Indonesia was expected to produce between 22.5 million and 22.8 million metric tons of palm oil this year, up slightly from last year’s production of 21.3 million metric tons. Read the rest of this entry »

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By Sharon Ling

The Star

22 May, 2011

Tan Sri Alfred Jabu has lashed out at Australian Independent senator Nick Xenophon for introducing a bill that will impose conditions on palm oil in food products.

The deputy chief minister said Xenophon’s bill was made out of ignorance.

“I believe the senator has never been to Sarawak. He should visit the state and meet me so that I can tell him the world is not a level playing field,” Jabu said.

Xenophon’s bill called for palm oil to be listed as a specific ingredient in food labels, including labelling of certified sustainable palm oil by manufacturers to show that they were sourced from sustainable plantations.

Besides the senator, Jabu wanted developed countries and foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to stop criticising Malaysia on environmental issues until the country has gained developed status. Read the rest of this entry »

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