Archived News

26/01/2009 (Mongabay) - Efforts to slow the rapid expansion of oil palm plantations at the expense of natural forests across Southeast Asia are being hindered by industry-sponsored disinformation campaigns, argue scientists writing in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution. The authors, Lian Pin Koh and David S. Wilcove, say that palm oil may constitute the "single most immediate threat to the greatest number of species" by driving the conversion of biologically rich ecosystems — including lowland rainforests and peatlands.

23/01/2009 (AgriMarket.Info) - Wilmar International Limited, Asia’s leading agribusiness group, announced on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, that its wholly-owned Business Unit, PPB Oil Palms Berhad, has been awarded the certification for sustainable palm oil production, in accordance with the rigorous standards of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Three of its mills have been awarded the RSPO certification, which collectively produce approximately 123,000 metric tones of sustainable crude palm oil annually from their supply base of four plantations of more than 19,400 hectares of Sabah, East Malaysia.

23/01/2009 (The Edge Daily), Petaling Jaya - Malaysia has the capacity to be a major palm biodiesel exporter alongside supplying to the local market, said Platinum Energy Sdn Bhd CEO Edward Leung.

23/01/2009 (The Star Online), Kuala Lumpur - Chin Teck Plantations Bhd has a cash reserve of RM120mil to be used for its expansion plans.

21/01/2009 (Flex News) - Used mainly to bind oil and water in food, these emulsifiers are based on sustainable palm oil or sustainable palm kernel oil. The new sustainable emulsifier meets the increasing consumer demand for ethically correct consumer goods.

21/01/2009 (The Star Online) - AFTER months of lobbying, oil palm planters finally convinced the Government to reduce the burdensome palm oil price stabilisation fund cess to RM2 per tonne from RM4 previously.

21/01/2009 (Guardian) - As a child, Matt Aman grew up in the lush tropical lowland rain forest of Sumatra. Tigers padded through the underbrush, rarely seen and silent as shadows. "It made my skin prickle," the indigenous leader recalled recently as he sat on the floor of a stick hut surrounded by fellow villagers.

21/01/2009 (Reuters), Jakarta - Indonesia's PT Musim Mas has been certified as the country's first firm to have adopted stricter sustainability standards in producing palm oil, Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono said on Wednesday.

20/01/2009 (Biofuel International) - Thailand-based palm oil crushing company Vichitbhan Group is investing almost THB2 billion (€44.3 million) to set up biogas and biomass energy businesses.

21/01/2009 (Live Mint.com), New Delhi - India, the world’s largest buyer of vegetable oils after China, ruled out import taxes on crude palm oil as prices of domestic oilseeds stay above the assured rates that the government pays farmers.

19/01/2008 (Bernama), Putrajaya - The government will consider abolishing Windfall Profit Levy for palm oil if the crude palm oil price rises further, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin said Monday.

20/01/2009 (The Jakarta Globe) - The European Union’s increasing demand for crude palm oil, or CPO, is evidence of its inconsistent stance on climate change, an environmentalist said on Monday.