Saturday, August 31, 2013

MPOC: Palm oil price to increase by year-end Read more: MPOC: Palm oil price to increase by year-end

Palm oil price is expected to increase by year-end due to low production of substitutes such as vegetable and soybean oils, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) said today. 

The US Department of Agriculture has been reported to have cut soybean production by about five per cent and this could lead to low supply globally. 

"This is an advantage to Malaysian palm oil. 

"With low soybean oil supply, it can help boost palm oil prices as more global market players will seek for the commodity (palm oil), of which Malaysia is the second biggest producer after Indonesia," council chairman Datuk Lee Yeow Chor told Bernama on the sidelines of the Palm Industry Leadership Forum 2013. 


For the past eight months, the council has been monitoring the palm oil inventory, which saw the commodity's stock level steadily dwindling to 1.6 million tonnes as at July, Lee said. 

He expects the inventory to further fall by year-end. 

Meanwhile, Cargo Surveyor, Intertek Testing Services, has estimated higher palm oil exports to 880,979 tonnes for the August 1 to 20 period versus 798,482 tonnes in the same period in July. 

The improved export figures were mainly attributed to China, the world's largest consumer of edible oil that began restocking of palm oil ahead of its September Mid-Autumn Festival. 

Earlier, in his speech, Lee said through the forum, the council was confident that the palm ol industry would be able to overcome the challenges faced by the industry. 

"Currently, palm oil price is at its lowest level in over two years, while the Asian economy is still struggling to come to terms with the impact of the US Federal Reserve winding down its bond purchases or quantitative easing programme. 

"Currencies in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have weakened in recent years while the Indian rupee has plunged to another historic trough. 

"All these factors will invariably have an impact on the palm oil price," he added. 

At present, palm oil is being traded within the RM2,300-RM2,400 range versus RM3,000 a tonne in the same period last year.-- Bernama

Read more: MPOC: Palm oil price to increase by year-end http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130827153019/Article/#ixzz2dXt4xYAX

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Headway in palm oil research

ENSURING BEST YIELD: MPOB releases Elaeis guineensis genome map, which will have major implication on enhancing future output and ensuring sustainability


THE Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has released the oil palm genome map, which is set to have major implications on en-hancing future production and sus-tainability of the palm oil industry.

The oil palm genome, in layman terms, allows scientists to weed out negative elements of a oil palm tree even before it is planted and is in seed form. 

The country's palm oil regulator and watchdog agency said the maps were published in two landmark Malaysian-led scientific research papers on Wednesday.

The papers were published online ahead of the publication of "Nature", an influential scientific journal.


The papers also identified a single gene that is critical for palm oil yield.

The publication of back-to-back studies in a single edition of the respected journal is an unprecedented milestone for Malaysian scientists.

Commenting on the breakthrough, MPOB director-general Datuk Dr Choo Yuen May said as the second largest producer of palm oil in the world, Malaysia has a responsibility to make advancements that will improve the sustainability of oil palm agriculture while improving yields for small and large growers alike.

"The mapping of the oil palm genome will pave the way for many more breakthroughs and help meet the increasing global demand for food and biofuels worldwide, while simultaneously helping to preserve the rainforest," she said.

Conducted in collaboration with the US-based Orion Genomics, the research reports on the Elaeis guineensis (E.guineensis) genome sequence tallies nearly 35,000 genes, including the full set of oil biosynthesis genes and other gene regulators, which are highly expressed in the oil-rich palm fruit.

E.guineensis, which originates from Africa, is the commercial oil palm planted in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. 

In addition, the research team has also created a draft sequence of the South American oil palm, Elaeis oleifera, which should lead to further advances in palm oil productivity.

According to joint first authors Dr Rajinder Singh, Dr Meilina Ong Abdullah and Dr Leslie Low of MPOB's advanced biotechnology and breeding centre, this discovery may help balance the competing interests of meeting increasing worldwide demand for edible oil and biofuels on the one hand and of rainforest conservation on the other.

Oil palm genomes are a rich resource for palm breeders, geneticists and evolutionary biologists alike and will facilitate future identification of genes responsible for important yield and quality traits, such as fruit colour, disease resistance and height," said joint corresponding author Dr Ravigadevi Sambanthamurthi, head of MPOB's oil palm genome programme and director of the advanced biotechnology & breeding centre.

The investigators relied on MPOB's germplasm collection of more than 100,000 palms, gathered from Africa and South America over five decades, along with carefully designed genetic crosses to identify the gene and its two mutations.
Read more: Headway in palm oil research http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/NOMTRU/Article/#ixzz2dGSVomPg

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Review Sales Tax Due to Rising Cost of Production

KUCHING (Aug 14): The Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners Association (SOPPOA) has called on the government to review the sales tax structure for palm oil industry in the state in view of the current soft prices for crude palm oil (CPO) internationally and rising cost of production. 
 
In a statement today, SOPPOA said the proposed revision was expected to have minimal impact on state revenue but instead will be compensated by the crop's higher productivity. 
 
"In adopting these changes to the sales tax structure will also allow many companies to bridge the difficult financial situation they are currently facing and will result in a win-win situation for the state and nation," it said.
 
SOPPOA said the crop was often cited as the golden crop for Malaysia for its contributions to the economy, jobs creation and food for the people.  
 
It said in Sarawak, the oil palm industry contributed over RM425 million in sales tax to the state last year but the current soft CPO prices were affecting the industry, which did not foresee price recovery in the next six months.
 
Of the 1.1 million hectares (ha) of oil palm planted in the state, over 50 per cent are eight years or younger and this high percentage of young growing palms as well as rising production cost and logistical issues, affect the industry as a whole. 
 
When the Sarawak sales tax was implemented in 1998, the direct cost of production was RM2,170 per ha compared with the current cost of RM6,220 per ha, an increase by 187 per cent over the same period.
 
The increase was brought about mostly by inflation, fertilizers, wages and diesel costs.
 
With the current price of CPO dipping below RM2,400 per metric tonne, many plantation companies in Sarawak are paying taxes despite incurring losses. Many are also paying sales tax funding by bank borrowings, thereby increasing their financial burden, cost of production and also lengthening the payback period.
 
"As such, planters are requesting that no sales tax be imposed when the CPO price is below RM2,400 per metric tonne to offset losses incurred due to the current high cost of production," it said, adding that the federal government even recognised that Sarawak had average low yield and young planted areas by imposing the threshold for windfall profit tax at RM 3,000 per metric tonne for the state. 
 
Sarawak, a latecomer, has a total planted area equal to only 21 per cent of total planted area in the country, compared to 50 per cent in Peninsular Malaysia at present.
 
Many of the estates, due to the state's late entry into the industry, produce less as the area of harvest is smaller and young palm trees produce less. 
 
Sarawak's average yield for January-June this year was only 6.6 tonnes per ha compared with 8.2 tonnes per ha in the peninsula and 9.8 tonnes per ha in Sabah.
 
However, investments to develop young palms are high, especially in terms of fertilizer costs. 
 
In terms of CPO production, Sarawak also falls behind that of Sabah's and the peninsula with the average CPO yield in Sarawak at 1.35 tonnes per ha during the same period of 2013 as compared to 1.63 and 2.05 tonnes per ha for Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah, respectively.

The Star & Bernama

Monday, August 12, 2013

Palmex Sarawak 2013 20-22 Aug 2013 Miri Indoor Stadium, Sarawak, Malaysia

Palmex Sarawak 2013
20-22 Aug 2013
Miri Indoor Stadium, Sarawak, Malaysia

PALMEX SARAWAK 2013 is the industry event for both upstream and downstream palm oil companiesin the region. This international event is projected to bring together in 2013, more than 5,000 industry professionals to visit the strategic, operational and technology aspects of the Sarawak and Asean’s palm oil industry. The international character of Palmex 2013 presents unparalleled marketing, education and networking opportunities, expand your market presence and penetrate emerging market in Sarawak, Malaysia.

Friday, August 9, 2013

When the price drop, it is hard to maintaince

When the price drop to below RM400, it is very tough to maintaince the 10 hectares of Oil Palm.