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 Hanim Adnan

The Star

21 May, 2011

Plantation conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd is planning to invest US$3.1bil in its oil palm and rubber plantation ventures in Liberia over the next 15 years.

Chairman Tun Musa Hitam said its unit, Sime Darby Plantations Sdn Bhd, to date had invested RM50mil (US$17mil) in the West African country.

In 2009, an amended and restated concession agreement between Sime Darby Plantation and the Liberian government gave the company a 63-year concession of 220,000ha in Liberia to be developed into oil palm and rubber plantations.

“We expect by 2015 some 10,800 tonnes of crude palm oil will be produced from our plantations in Liberia,” Musa told Malaysian and Liberian reporters after the official launch of Sime Darby Plantations’ first oil palm seedlings planting at its first estate Matambo Estate in Grand Cape Mount County witnessed by Liberia vice-president Joseph Boakai yesterday. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Inquirer

20 May, 2011

Sime Darby Plantation, the world’s largest producer of certified sustainable palm oil, planted its first palm seedlings in Liberia yesterday at a poignant ceremony that was significant in more ways than one for many of those present. The ceremonial planting marked the commencement of large-scale plantation activities in the African Republic. Currently, Sime Darby Plantation’s Matambo Estate, first in Liberia, was launched.   Speaking at the historic ceremony, the chairman of the Board of Directors/ Sime Darby Berhad, Tun Musa Hitam said the occasion is a proud moment for the company. “Today is a historic day for both of us because we are witnessing the planting of the first oil palm seedlings and this will lead to Liberia becoming a major producer of oil and its related products,” Sime Darby boss noted. Read the rest of this entry »

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By Pratik Parija and Prabhudatta Mishra

Bloomberg

20 May, 2011

India, the world’s biggest user of cooking oil after China, will ensure higher oilseed prices for farmers, helping them boost output of soybeans and peanuts and potentially reducing imports of palm oil.

The government may offer a higher profit on monsoon-sown oilseeds than on food grains, said Ashok Gulati, chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, in an interview. The commission is part of the Agriculture Ministry.

India is the largest buyer of palm oil, which represents more than 80 percent of its edible-oil imports. A decline in imports may pressure futures in Malaysia that jumped 38 percent in the past year on higher demand in everything from noodles to fish sticks to candy bars. Read the rest of this entry »

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By Beatrice Philemon

IPP Media

18 May, 2011

Africa Green Oils Limited is now studying the performance of four varieties of hybrid palm seedling in order to come up with the best strain for production of oil palm locally.

The varieties being studied at a clinic in Rufiji District are from Costa Rica, Ghana, Malaysia and Kigoma.

This was revealed yesterday by the firm’s managing director, Severin Kalonga, at the hand over of a newly built Maternal and Child Health clinic (MHC) to villagers at Nyamatanga, Rufiji District, Coast Region.

The research is being carried at the village where there are big piles of hybrid palm oil seedlings.

The beneficiaries of the varieties are villagers from Nyamatanga, Ruaruke A and B and Rungungu, all located in Ruaruke Ward. Read the rest of this entry »

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by Rupa Damodaran

Business Times

16 May, 2011

Malaysia and Indonesia are pooling in efforts to tackle negative publicity towards palm oil with a European Palm Oil Council (EPOC) in the offing.

It will provide the industry a collective platform to represent both countries on public debates that relate to palm oil issues.

Both countries hope to finalise the proposal on the EPOC by the end of the year, said a communique after the Sixth Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) on Bilateral Cooperation on Commodities between Malaysia and Indonesia in Kuching on Friday.
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