Archived News

KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 (Bernama) -- Ecofuture Bhd a company which isinvolved in oil palm biomass, milling and sale of crude palm oil andkernel will focus on developing its products by using the empty fruitbunches (EFB).

IPOH, May 29 (Bernama) -- Felcra Bhd plans to invest between RM40 millionand RM60 million to build a plant and to bring in technology to producebiodiesel.

6/7/2005 -- Scientists from Spain have found that when heated thedegradation products from edible oils form toxic substances such asaldehydes. The type of oil and heating method affect the quantity oftoxins created and the rate at which they are created.

The Edge Daily - Jun 07 7:50 AM - Malaysia, the world's largest producerof palm oil, is putting the final touches to a plan to spur national useof a green fuel made by blending palm oil with the diesel sold at pumps.

Wednesday June 8, 2005 - TSH RESOURCES BHD unit TSH Plantation MangementSdn Bhd has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) withMalaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) to establish a tissue culture laboratory.

Monday 6th June, 2005 - Non-government organisations in East NewBritain Province have opposed the introduction of oil palm in PomioDistrict.The NGOs are seeking co-operation from the National and ENB provincialgovernments to cancel the plan and replace it with a suitable project -which is environmentally safe - and bring long term and sustainabledevelopment to the local people.Chairman of the ENB Alliance of Community Development Agency PatrickVaragat said this recently at Open Bay, when expressing views of the NGO’sagainst the proposed oil palm project.In the past, there has been numerous attempts by both the National andprovincial governments to introduce models and programs to the districtsuch as the agriculture lease schemes of the 1960s, ENB small-holderdevelopment project of 1992-1997 to Pomio and Baining and the hydroproject which has failed to benefit the district.These failures were due to the lack of consultation with the local peopleand the lack of proper planning by both governments.Mr Varagat said the proposed project would give rise to a situation wherethe local people would become second class citizens on their own land.He also said social problems such as rape, prostitution, trespassing ontraditional land, illegal settlements, HIV/AIDS, ethnic fighting andimmigration of unwanted settlers would destroy the good reputation thepeople in the district had.Mr Varagat said environmentally, oil palm is the type of crop that usesmore nutrients from the soil, causing soil nutrients degradation thateventually makes the soil useless for future agriculture.The oil palm project was believed to have been given little time for onfloor to discuss in the last Provincial Assembly meeting.The NGO’s claimed that they were avoided for discussions in the lastmeeting

6/6/2005 YANGON (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The Organization of PetroleumExporting Countries (OPEC) will help Myanmar build two edible oil millsworth 5 million US dollars as part of its aid to the country, said alatest report of the local 7-Day News journal.

Tuesday, June 07, 2005 - IN A MOVE to improve its' public deliveryservices, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has relocated its branchoffice in Seremban to Seremban 2 to ease congestion.

6/6/2005 Manila Standard - Filipino-owned company Chemrez Inc. willinvest P2.2 billion to put up the first biodiesel-dedicated manufacturingplant in Asia.

Saturday June 04 2005 - Bangladesh will propose a Free Trade Agreementwith Malaysia in Bangladesh-Malaysia Joint Commission (JC) meeting to beheld on June 6-7, after a break of 10 years. A foreign ministry officialyesterday said Dhaka would also seek duty-free access for 19 Bangladeshiproducts to the Malaysian market, and propose setting up a Joint TradeCommission.

6/2/2005 Clean Air Report - Extensive testing at an Energy Departmentlaboratory contradicts the widely held belief that burning biodieselproduces more nitrogen oxide (NOx) air emissions than traditional diesel,a top lab official reported May 9 at a Society of Automotive Engineers(SAE) conference in Washington, D.C.

Friday June 3, 3:03 PM - Palm oil plantations in Indonesia and Malaysiaare threatening rainforests and could contribute to the extinction oforangutans and tigers there, a U.S. consumer advocacy group chargedFriday.