Archived News

Oil prices firmed on Monday as the United States and China were reported to be close to signing a trade deal, ending a tit-for-tat tariff row that has roiled financial markets and clouded the outlook for the global economy.

Following are five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders this week.

Plans to increase the use of palm-based biodiesel, production growth, trade talks and Europe’s unfriendly policies will be the key points to watch as some of the world’s most influential palm oil traders, analysts and executives from over 50 countries gather in Kuala Lumpur this week

Malaysian palm oil futures gained more than 3 per cent at the close of trade on Friday, snapping five previous losing sessions, supported by short covering and forecasts of falling February production versus the previous month. Strength in related edible oils and a weaker ringgit had also added to palm’s gains earlier in the day.

With palm oil prices facing pressure in international markets, the government is recommending that oil palm planters and smallholders consider other types of commercial crops with better market prospects

A professor of Farm Power and Machinery Engineering, University of Uyo, Etim Ituen, has advised the Federal Government to invest in oil palm plantation dedicated primarily for biofuel use.

Last week, residents from two Iban longhouses in Kanowit travelled to Kuching to present a signed petition to the Sarawak Forestry Department calling for an end to years of encroachment on their native lands at Bukit Spali in Sungai Ngemah.

Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok today clarified that her earlier suggestion to cultivate bamboo was to counter the negative perception in the West towards Malaysia’s mass plantation of oil palms and its products.

Indonesia is going all out to strike trade pacts with about a dozen countries and blocs as the U.S.-China trade war hurts its shipments and threatens to worsen a current-account deficit.

Shea butter, mainly used in Africa as waterproofing wax, cooking oil, hairdressing, in candle-making, and as an ingredient in medicinal ointments, is derived from shea nuts, which Nigeria is known world-wide as its major producer.

Earlier last week, US President Donald Trump commented of positive results on a trade talk with China and proposed an extension of the tariff deadline while calling to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in late March. On Friday, Trump changed his mind and asked China to remove the agricultural tariffs immediately as an exchange for the extension on the deadline for the trade talk. There are still no news on the extension of the deadline.

Today, in the world market, a litre of palm oil is more expensive than a litre of crude oil. Malaysia, which sourced her palm fruits from Nigeria in the early 1960s, has reversed her economy from crude oil dependency to palm oil dependency while Nigeria is still rooted on the same spot.