MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Palm Oil SIG Formed in Malaysia
Palm Oil SIG Formed in Malaysia
30/04/2015 (tce today) - ICHEME members in Malaysia have established a Palm Oil Special Interest Group (SIG) as they seek to form a technical network around this vital national sector.
The formation of the SIG is a timely initiative, says IChemE CEO David Brown, who pointed to the competitive challenges Malaysia’s palm oil sector faces from neighbouring Indonesia, where lower environmental standards and labour costs are forcing Malaysian players to add value by moving downstream.
“This is a vitally important sector based on renewable natural resources, and one that faces some real economic challenges,” says Brown.
More than 60% of Malaysia’s agricultural land is planted with palm oil with exports worth around US$19bn. With 80% of exports made up of crude and processed palm oil, Malaysia’s government is pushing for companies to turn palm oil into more valuable oleochemicals and food and health products through its National Key Economic Area initiative (NKEA).
Government grants to support firms moving downstream are not permanent, Ku Kok Peng director of the government’s Palm Oil NKEA wrote in a tce article last year. “Their sole aim is to reduce the risk faced by pioneers and early starters, so they can become trailblazers, enabling others to follow the same path.”
“There is a huge amount chemical engineers can do to address these challenges and enable industry to enhance its performance further,” says Brown. “We wish the new Palm Oil SIG every success.”
The new SIG is chaired by Hong Wai Onn, a project manager at the minerals firm Unichamp Group, who previously worked as a senior engineer at Genting Plantations. The Malaysian palm oil producer announced last month that it was diversifying downstream with the construction of a 600,000 t/y palm oil refinery in Sabah, joining others including Sime Darby and IOI Corp in becoming a vertically integrated player.
IChemE will contact members with more details once the SIG’s first meeting is scheduled.
The formation of the SIG is a timely initiative, says IChemE CEO David Brown, who pointed to the competitive challenges Malaysia’s palm oil sector faces from neighbouring Indonesia, where lower environmental standards and labour costs are forcing Malaysian players to add value by moving downstream.
“This is a vitally important sector based on renewable natural resources, and one that faces some real economic challenges,” says Brown.
More than 60% of Malaysia’s agricultural land is planted with palm oil with exports worth around US$19bn. With 80% of exports made up of crude and processed palm oil, Malaysia’s government is pushing for companies to turn palm oil into more valuable oleochemicals and food and health products through its National Key Economic Area initiative (NKEA).
Government grants to support firms moving downstream are not permanent, Ku Kok Peng director of the government’s Palm Oil NKEA wrote in a tce article last year. “Their sole aim is to reduce the risk faced by pioneers and early starters, so they can become trailblazers, enabling others to follow the same path.”
“There is a huge amount chemical engineers can do to address these challenges and enable industry to enhance its performance further,” says Brown. “We wish the new Palm Oil SIG every success.”
The new SIG is chaired by Hong Wai Onn, a project manager at the minerals firm Unichamp Group, who previously worked as a senior engineer at Genting Plantations. The Malaysian palm oil producer announced last month that it was diversifying downstream with the construction of a 600,000 t/y palm oil refinery in Sabah, joining others including Sime Darby and IOI Corp in becoming a vertically integrated player.
IChemE will contact members with more details once the SIG’s first meeting is scheduled.