Archived News

KUALA LUMPUR: Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok said the ministry would work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry to continue the mixed cropping programme for oil palm smallholders.

(Dec 18): The tide appears to have turned for the world’s most-consumed edible oil. Just five months ago, benchmark futures in Malaysia languished at four-year lows as investors fretted about stubbornly high stockpiles, waning demand from top buyers India and China and European restrictions that linked palm oil to environmental harm. Then in October, a trade spat between No. 2 producer Malaysia and India threatened to further hit sales and prices.

Malaysian palm oil futures gained for a second straight session on Tuesday, supported by worries over shortfall in stockpiles due to seasonal declines and tracking gains in rival soyaoil prices.

JAKARTA: Indonesia is prepared to walk away from talks on a free trade deal with the European Union (EU) over the bloc's stance on palm oil, while also launching a probe into subsidies on dairy imports from the EU, a trade ministry official said.

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Group Bhd (AirAsia) is keen on using palm oil as part of its sustainable programme to develop biofuel-powered flights in the future.

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 ― The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) is optimistic that the Finance Ministry (MOF) will approve its proposal for the three per cent windfall tax imposed on palm oil planters to be channelled back to the industry.

A whooping sum of $500 million of the country’s scarce foreign exchange is presently being expended annually on the importation of palm oil, the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele has disclosed.

JOHOR BARU: Kulim (Malaysia) Berhad has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB) to further expand its research in improving the quality of palm oil in the country.

KUALA LUMPUR: Carl Bek-Nielsen, who’s about to give a tour of the palm oil plantations he runs in Malaysia, is reflecting on a story by the New York Times earlier this year about an orangutan that was shot 74 times and found close to death on an oil palm estate in Indonesia.

Countless readers of The Hindu BusinessLine are once again being misled to believe that palm oil is detrimental to heart health. The publication ran an article by Balram Bhargava and Prabhkaran Dorairaj claiming, “Both past research and new evidence point to the ill effects on populations.” This statement is not just grossly inaccurate. It does an extreme disservice to the Indian population now experiencing an apparent uptick in cardiovascular disease.

THE government is planning to publish concession maps on oil palm acreage to the public to ensure transparency in the industry, said Malaysia Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC).

Malaysian palm oil rose more than 1% on Monday, recovering from the previous session's sharp fall, supported by concerns over shortfall in supplies and tracking gains in rival soyaoil prices. The benchmark palm oil contract for March delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed up 33 ringgit, or 1.2%, at 2,878 ringgit ($690.17). It fell 1.3% on Friday on profit-taking and a stronger ringgit.