Archived News

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.

Wednesday June 1, 2005, 5:39 pm KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--The palm oilindustry plans to unveil in November a set of standards on environmentallyfriendly and socially responsible production practices, marking a majorstep forward in the fledgling cooperation between the industry andnon-governmental organizations.Set up in mid-2004, the Roundtable On Sustainable Palm Oil, or RSPO, asthe multiparty association is better known, had as its initial task theformulation of a credible definition of sustainable palm oil.Now, about a year later, the grouping of sides that have long been at oddsover environmental and rights issues is close to making a breakthrough."Our main focus so far has been to develop a set of criteria on whatsustainable palm oil entails. We set up a working group in October andwe've had two draft documents that have come out for public consultation,"the RSPO's newly appointed secretary-general Andrew Ng said in aninterview."The goal is to have the (final) criteria document launched at our 3rdRoundtable meeting in November."That meeting is scheduled for Nov. 22-23 in Singapore, a key regionalfinancial center neighboring two of the world's largest palm oil producers- Malaysia, where the Rasp's secretariat is based, and Indonesia.The criteria on sustainable palm oil will cover various aspects of palmoil production, including legal, economic, technical, environmental andsocial aspects.Admittedly, some aspects are more complicated, if not contentious, thanothers, which is why defining sustainable palm oil has been a longprocess, Nag said.Issues like optimizing productivity, zero-burning, integrated pestmanagement and waste management are among the easier aspects, sincegenerally, they are already being practiced in the industry."But then, there are some really difficult issues like biodiversity -things that the plantations industry has not done before and that takestime to be explained," Ng said."So, pulling people together and narrowing the gap is part of the wholelearning process that everyone is going through."Just as in the development of any multilateral agreement, the wordings tobe used in the RSPO's criteria document can also be the subject ofopposing views that take time to be resolved, Ng added.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 (Bernama) -- Japan has voiced its support for theproposed tariff reduction on Malaysian palm oil exports to be brought upat the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting in Hong Kong inDecember, Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk AhmadHusni Hanadzlah said here Friday.

01 June, 2005 Tuaran: Coconuts and oil palm at the Sabah AgriculturalPark in Tenom are among those attacked by the Asiatic Rhinoceros beetle,causing extensive damage and their proliferation lately has beenattributed to decades of logging which has left tonnes of wood rotting inthe forests, among others.

6/2/2005 New Zealand Press Association, Ashburton - Mid Canterbury graingrowers are concerned at the potential risk of bird flu posed by importingpalm kernel from Malaysia.

6/2/2005 Manila Standard - Coconut and fish products from the Philippinesnow have a chance of getting market access in the 25 member-states of theEuropean Union bloc after the signing of a 3.5 million euros (P240.8million) bilateral agreement.