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First Of-its-kind Palm Oil Biomass Cluster In Lahad Datu
First Of-its-kind Palm Oil Biomass Cluster In Lahad Datu
05/06/2013 (Bernama) - A major milestone will be reached in the continuing advancement of the country's palm oil industry as six major oil palm players sign up in a first-of-its-kind joint-venture biomass cluster in Lahad Datu, Sabah.
The signing, to be held on June 10, would include big names like the Bell Group, which is involved in the trading of crude palm oil, palm kernel oil and palm kernel cake, Genting Bhd as well as plantation-based Teck Guan Group.
Datuk Dr Pang Teck Wai, the Chief Executive Officer of POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd, said the signing was a major breakthrough in bringing together owners and consumers of oil palm biomass, a sector in which the Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB) estimates to be worth RM80 billion.
"For the past few years we (government and private sector) were sort of stuck in an impasse...We have a lot of biomass but there was no price mechanism, no precedence to follow and a lack of mutual trust between suppliers and potential buyers.
"Even with the backing of and the drive of National Biomass Strategy, agencies such as AIM (Agensi Inovasi Malaysia) and POIC Sabah have to act as bridges between the biomass users and owners, requiring a lot of dialogues, visits and briefing," he said in a statement here.
Pang said the main hurdle to biomass manufacturing was availability of oil palm mills willing to commit to long-term supply and potential buyers quoting widely different prices based on their different uses.
"The AIM-initiated JV Cluster brings together companies who are prepared to break the impasse by their willingness to be shareholders in the cluster, commit a certain volume of biomass at a certain price for an agreed period...all the basic ingredients for a biomass downstream value-adding industry to take off in Sabah," said Pang.
"The entrepreneurial leadership shown by these industrial leaders is exemplary and we believe they will inspire and provoke their colleagues in the industry to come on board and share the vision of building an industry," he added.
On the extraction of high-value derivatives from palm oil and equally high-value sugars in oil palm biomass, Pang said Sabah was in the lead with the setting up of Malaysia's first pilot lignocellulosic refinery by the Teck Guan Group in Tawau in collaboration with Japanese multinational Mitsui.
The extraction of high-value oleo derivatives is multi-billion industry worldwide and Malaysia is moving in this direction under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).
The Tawau venture will be the subject for one of the seven papers to be presented during the conference on June 12 and organisers of the 4th Malaysia International Palm Oil Technology Expo (4th Palmex) from June 11-13 are arranging for a delegates visit to the plant.
The signing, to be held on June 10, would include big names like the Bell Group, which is involved in the trading of crude palm oil, palm kernel oil and palm kernel cake, Genting Bhd as well as plantation-based Teck Guan Group.
Datuk Dr Pang Teck Wai, the Chief Executive Officer of POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd, said the signing was a major breakthrough in bringing together owners and consumers of oil palm biomass, a sector in which the Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB) estimates to be worth RM80 billion.
"For the past few years we (government and private sector) were sort of stuck in an impasse...We have a lot of biomass but there was no price mechanism, no precedence to follow and a lack of mutual trust between suppliers and potential buyers.
"Even with the backing of and the drive of National Biomass Strategy, agencies such as AIM (Agensi Inovasi Malaysia) and POIC Sabah have to act as bridges between the biomass users and owners, requiring a lot of dialogues, visits and briefing," he said in a statement here.
Pang said the main hurdle to biomass manufacturing was availability of oil palm mills willing to commit to long-term supply and potential buyers quoting widely different prices based on their different uses.
"The AIM-initiated JV Cluster brings together companies who are prepared to break the impasse by their willingness to be shareholders in the cluster, commit a certain volume of biomass at a certain price for an agreed period...all the basic ingredients for a biomass downstream value-adding industry to take off in Sabah," said Pang.
"The entrepreneurial leadership shown by these industrial leaders is exemplary and we believe they will inspire and provoke their colleagues in the industry to come on board and share the vision of building an industry," he added.
On the extraction of high-value derivatives from palm oil and equally high-value sugars in oil palm biomass, Pang said Sabah was in the lead with the setting up of Malaysia's first pilot lignocellulosic refinery by the Teck Guan Group in Tawau in collaboration with Japanese multinational Mitsui.
The extraction of high-value oleo derivatives is multi-billion industry worldwide and Malaysia is moving in this direction under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).
The Tawau venture will be the subject for one of the seven papers to be presented during the conference on June 12 and organisers of the 4th Malaysia International Palm Oil Technology Expo (4th Palmex) from June 11-13 are arranging for a delegates visit to the plant.