Archived News

06/10/2007 (The Jakarta Post) - At first sight it appears to be a boy's scout camp, hidden in the forests of Sumatra. But it only takes a 50-meter stroll behind the camp to realize that the young people who have gathered there from the surrounding villages are not simply nature lovers enjoying their time in the forest, because there is nothing left of the forest.

04/11/2007 (The Wall Street Journal Online) - Rising costs of biofuels and other alternative energies are making them less viable as substitutes for crude oil, a development that could frustrate efforts to bring oil prices down in the years ahead.

06/11/2007 (The World Street Journal Online) - Trans fatty acids are created when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil – a process that makes the oil last longer. Food fried in oil containing trans fat or baked with shortening or other ingredients containing trans fat stay fresh longer. Trans fats are what gave the Oreo cookie filling its smooth, creamy texture and make French fries crisp. But trans fats have been found to raise bad cholesterol while lowering good cholesterol.

06/11/2007 (Bernama), Sarikei - Sarawak's new industrial township of Tanjung Manis near here saw work begin today on a RM300 million integrated complex that is the outcome of a partnership between the public and private sectors.

05/11/2007 (The International News) - Despite efforts to meet bulk of edible oil requirements from indigenous sources, Pakistan’s dependence upon imported edible oils is constantly rising, registering a record increase of 200,000 tons during the last financial year, when the country imported1.8 million tons of edible oils from the earlier average of 1.6 million tons per year.

02/11/2007(The Hindu Business Line), Mumbai - Some disturbing trends are coming to the fore as far as the vegetable oil sector is concerned. Imports have been under open general licence for about 12 years now. From time to time, the Government uses the customs tariff mechanism to regulate imports.

01/11/2007 (FORBES), Jakarta - Indonesia's exports declined 0.9 percent to 9.52 billion dollars in September from the previous month as higher tax on crude palm oil (CPO) reduced shipments, a government official said Thursday.

31/10/2007 (The Hindu), New Delhi - Edible oils strengthened further on the wholesale oils and oilseeds market on Wednesday on pick up in festive demand and closed with gains.

01/11/2007 (WebWire), Stockholm — Greenpeace welcomes the decision by Swedish petrol giant OKQ8 to abandon plans to use palm oil in their new biodiesel Eco20. The announcement comes after prolonged campaigning by Greenpeace and other environmental groups against palm oil production, which destroys native rainforest, often by burning, to make way for massive palm plantations.

01/11/2007 (Domain-b.com), Mumbai - The government's decision to stop the import of palm oil at the southern port of Kochi has helped stabilise coconut prices and bring the two oils to price parity.

01/11/2007 (AllAfrican.com) - Tanzania is paying dearly for heavily relying on imports."We really import all the fuel used in the country," Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI) policy and research director Hussein Kamote told The Citizen by phone yesterday.

31/10/2007 (Mongabay.com) - The Dutch government will exclude palm oil from "green energy" subsidies as growing evidence suggests that palm oil is often less sustainable than advertised.