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Palm oil price is expected to average between RM2,300 and RM2,400 per metric tonne this year driven by the government’s policy to ramp up palm-based biodiesel consumption

The Malaysian and Indonesian palm-based biodiesel industry can expect to see some positive growth this year following the decision of both Governments to boost consumption of the biofuel.

Shares in Teck Guan Perdana Bhd and Sarawak Oil Palms Bhd rose significantly today after China signed four purchase intent documents for the export of 1.62 million tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia — two of which were inked with Teck Guan's and Sarawak Oil Palm's subsidiaries.

Mild weather conditions, the rationalisation of palm oil inventories in Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as the US-China trade war are expected to be favourable for crude palm oil (CPO) prices this year, according to derivatives giant CME Group.

Malaysia's central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged on Tuesday, as expected, expressing confidence that the economy can stay on a "steady growth path" despite multiple risks.

Kasdi Subagyono, director general of plantations at the Ministry of Agriculture, has urged palm oil companies to mainly focus on complying with the standards and criteria set out in the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil, or ISPO, policy.

Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Abdul Farid Alias said the fall in business confidence in the country in the first quarter of 2019 — the first time in two years — is due to external uncertainties such as the US-China trade war and Brexit.

Rapid population and economic growth are destroying biological diversity -- especially in the tropics. This was reported by a research team led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) in Nature Ecology & Evolution. A constantly growing demand for agricultural products requires ever new cultivated areas. Even though technological advances are making agriculture ever more efficient, the growing number of people makes up for these successes. The study shows: an effective nature conservation policy needs concepts against population growth and for sustainable consumption.

Palm oil prices are likely to be supported in 2019 by rising consumption, falling inventories and slowing growth in production of the edible oil, a leading industry analyst told Reuters on Tuesday.

Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corp, based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, will build a thermal power plant using imported biomass as fuel in Omuta City, Fukuoka Prefecture.

Palm oil may retest a support at 2,117 ringgit per tonne, a break below which could cause a loss to the next support at 2,094 ringgit.

The Ministry of Primary Industries will be presenting a proposal to the Cabinet this month to cap the area for oil palm plantations at about 6.5 million ha, up from the 5.85 million ha as at end-2018.