Although proven to be the most effective vegetable oil and the only one with a strict sustainability certification, Palm oil has increasingly been the target of intensive campaigns to revile it and an Indonesian diplomat is calling on producers to now change gear from being merely reactive to proactively engage in counter campaigns. “This is…
Palm oil is often associated with tropical deforestation above all else. However, this is only one side of the story, as agricultural scientists from the University of Göttingen and the IPB University Bogor (Indonesia) show in a new study. The rapid expansion of oil palm has also contributed considerably to economic growth and poverty reduction…
The benchmark palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed up 61 ringgit, or 2.92%, at 2,150 ringgit ($492.44) per tonne, the highest since April 21. Indonesia, the world’s biggest palm producer, is set to distribute $2.78 trillion rupiah ($187 million) for its B30 biodiesel programme and increase its palm…
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has criticised the World Health Organisation for advising adults to avoid palm oil in their diet during the Covid-19 outbreak and use alternatives such as olive oil. The WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office said in a recent advisory during the Covid-19-outbreak that people should consume unsaturated fats found in fish, avocado, nuts,…
Jakarta. A study shows that unprocessed red palm oil helps to maintain lung immunity and respiratory health, strengthening’s one’s body defenses against the coronavirus that is causing the Covid-19 disease. The product, also known as virgin red palm oil, can help maintain an adequate amount of a substance crucial for the body’s immune system. Sri…
HANOI, VNA – Indonesia’ palm oil exports and its derivatives dropped to 4.93 million tonnes in the first two months of 2020 from 6.6 million tonnes in the same period last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact, the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (GAPKI) said on April 21. The GAPKI’s data show that the…
I READ a few news reports in a couple of international media recently about a startup based in New York that is ready to go big in producing synthetic palm oil as an alternative to natural palm oil. The company uses microbes to convert food waste and industrial byproducts into synthetic palm oil through a…
MUMBAI: India on Monday said imports of refined palm oil could recommence after being restricted in January, although with conditions attached. The world’s biggest importer of palm oil on Monday said in a statement that importers would need to furnish pre-purchase agreements and import the commodity within six months of receiving the licence, instead of…
Palm oil prices are expected to decrease slightly from its current levels over the next three to six months due to fall in demand caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. “Although palm oil supply is also being negatively impacted by government containment measures as plantation operations are being disrupted which could support prices in the very…
Malaysia and the European Union share a long history and strong trade ties. The European Union is Malaysia’s third-largest trading partner and is its largest source of foreign direct investment, and Malaysia is a major exporter of raw materials to the European Union. But politics over palm oil threaten their relationship. Malaysia is the world’s…
KUALA LUMPUR: Synthetic palm oil does not contain vitamins A and E compared to natural palm oil rich with these nutritional values, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) said in a statement yesterday. Its director-general Dr Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir said the raw materials used to produce synthetic palm oil may not be from original…
Indonesia’s palm oil exports to China have plummeted by half in volume amid global uncertainties, an industry source has said. The Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (GAPKI) said in a statement on Tuesday that China’s export volume fell by 381,000 tons or 57 percent. This contributed to the sharp drop in the country’s total palm…
Jakarta (ANTARA) – Deputy Foreign Minister Mahendra Siregar stressed that Indonesia could not accept the European Union (EU) energy policy which blamed biofuel from palm oil as a cause of deforestation, describing it as discriminatory. Mahendra considered the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) and the Derivative Act released by the EU as a major challenge…
Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima are to visit Indonesia from March 10 to 13 at the invitation of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. In the lead-up to the state visit, the Dutch Foreign Ministry recently invited The Jakarta Post’s Yuliasri Perdani and several other Indonesian journalists to the Netherlands to talk with Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Stef Blok about the…
With new regulatory changes now taking place on the basis of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED) II of 2018, Indonesia and Malaysia are trying to come to terms with the implications for their global palm oil market strategy and domestic production. They are mobilising intra-regional support from ASEAN and its members and even considering…
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s chief economic minister, Airlangga Hartarto, said on Wednesday the government plans to increase palm oil export levies to support expansion of its palm biodiesel program. “The increase is currently being calculated, whether it will be a flat increase or progressive,” Hartarto told reporters. Further details on the plan are still being…
JAKARTA, Feb 25 (Reuters) – Indonesia state energy company PT Pertamina asked parliament to cap prices for some crude palm oil (CPO), as the company develops refineries to make fuel from the vegetable oil. Pertamina needs a guarantee on the supply and price of palm oil as feed stock for at least three refineries it…
Indonesia’s palm oil exports to China have declined due to a drop in demand for the vegetable oil as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, farming ministry officials said. Indonesia has so far exported 84,000 tonnes of palm oil this month, compared with 371,000 tonnes for the full month of February last year, data from…
MANCHESTER: The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) opines that any discouraging developments regarding palm oil could be resolved through a clear perspective and progressive and proportional explanation on the commodity value chain by both major palm oil buyers and major producers. Its head of operations (Europe) Dr Inke van der Sluijs said there should…
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Stef Blok said the Netherlands is not backing the European Union biofuel ban that targets Indonesia-produced crude palm oil (CPO). However, Blok asserts that this issue must not be dragged out any further and Indonesia must pursue a sustainable way of producing CPO. The foreign affairs minister…
