Palm Oil

Malaysia is aiming to introduce B10 biodiesel – a mixture of 10 percent palm biodiesel with 90 percent petroleum diesel – nationwide by the middle of next year, according to the country’s Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.

Read Full Story As if there wasn’t enough controversy surrounding palm oil in Asia already, environmental groups in the Philippines are now raising alarm bells over a plan to establish a one-million hectare plantation on top of what is thought to be the region’s largest wetlands in the Philippines. According to a report in the Manila Bulletin, quoting Mindanao Development Authority Secretary Lualhati Antonino, the plantation is backed by a Malaysian group led by the Putraya Chamber of Commerce and Industry and will be located least partially on Liguasan Marsh in Mindanao.

With the year barely out of the gates, reports indicate a bumpy road ahead for palm oil producers, heavily concentrated in Malaysia and Indonesia, with demand faltering and further pressure being brought on the industry by environmentalists. Bloomberg reported today that a survey it had done suggest palm oil stockpiles in Malaysia were near record highs in December with inventories at about 2.53 million tonnes, barely changed from the 2.56 tonnes of the previous month.

Read Full Story The US Environmental Protection Agency are in Indonesia next week in an effort to help the country better meet green standards and open up its massive palm oil potential, according to Reuters.

Palm oil is a slippery business. Large plantations often displace local farming communities, leading to land rights disputes. Peat-swamp forest, primary forest and other high-value conservation areas valued for biodiversity and greenhouse-gas capturing abilities are often cleared to plan palm for oil production. The good news is, big business and big consuming countries are making strides to support a palm oil industry that is more sustainable and which manages those affected more equitably.