Archived News

23/12/2009 (Bernama), Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's commodity sector remained crucial in 2009 as it provided the much needed boost at a time when the nation is facing an economic stalemate.

23/12/2009 (The Star Online), Petaling Jaya - Oil palm companies in Peninsular Malaysia may start paying windfall tax again should the price of crude palm oil (CPO) continue to stay above RM2,500 per tonne.

23/12/2009 (The Star Online) - Carbon emission and climate change issues – the thrust of the recently-concluded Copenhagen Summit – are probably the toughest challenges to beset Malaysia’s palm oil sector.

23/12/2009 (Bernama), New Delhi - The Kerala state government has invoked a one-year ban on palm oil imports, primarily from Malaysia and Indonesia, via Cochin Port to protect coconut farmers' interests in the southern state.

22/12/2009 (Bristol Indymedia) - Anthra, a Non-Governmental Organisation from the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, has condemned green claims by biofuel power company W4B as false and warn that their plans will undermine farmers livelihoods and food sovereignty in India.(1) W4B are seeking permission to build vegetable oil power stations in Portland and Avonmouth. They claim that they would burn palm oil initially, then switch to another oilseed crop, jatropha, saying this can be sourced from India among other countries, and that it is ‘sustainable’. Anthra, works with rural communities affected by jatropha and has seen at first hand how misleading these claims are. Anthra calls W4B’s plans ‘unscrupulous’ and their claims about jatropha growing in ‘relatively poor soil’ and requiring ‘no drinking water’ ‘completely false’.

22/12/2009 (Jakarta Globe) - Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer of crude palm oil, will impose a 3 percent tax on exports of the commodity starting in January to ensure domestic supplies.

21/12/2009 (Business Times, Malaysia) - Malaysia’s palm oil exports fell 15 per cent in December, independent market surveyor Intertek said.

21/12/2009 (Jakarta Globe) - A day after Indonesian officials at the UN Climate talks praised PT Sinar Mas, the country's largest palm oil producer, for its sustainable operations, international conservation group Greenpeace took another swing at Sinar Mas, this time taking aim at its pulp and paper arm.

21/12/2009 (AFP), Kota Kinabalu - The world has less than 20 years left to save the orangutan, according to conservationists who predict the charismatic red ape will become extinct if no action is taken to protect its jungle habitat.

21/12/2009 (NSTP) - SABAH'S power shortage can be mitigated if the government provides better incentives for palm oil millers to generate renewable energy.

20/12/2009 (New Sabah Times), New Delhi - The government has assured it will soon step in to address the labour shortage woes in the palm oil plantations in Sabah.

19/12/2009 (Reuters), Jakarta - Indonesia, the world's top crude palm oil (CPO) producer, may hike the export tax to 3 per cent in January from zero now because of higher prices, but the move is unlikely to hit exports given tight global supply.