17/5/06 KUALA LUMPUR (the Star)  -  The palm oil industry's agenda from this year onwards should focus on going global, said Business Council for Sustainable Development Malaysia executive director Datuk Ghazali Yusoff. 

He said both domestic and global industry players must get their act together to better position the commodity as a leading world commodity for food, oleochemicals, biotechnology and biofuel.

“Key producers of palm oil like Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand should not focus on competing with each other but working closely to compete against the 16 major world oilseeds and potential peer pressure from upcoming oil palm players like Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Colombia and Ghana,” he said at a panel discussion on Going Global - The Palm Industry Agenda 2006 and Beyond yesterday.

Players must also seriously look at cultivating market accessibility and countering challenges in Western countries and new developments in biodiesels, Ghazali said at the seminar, organised by Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA).

Dr Watcharas Leelawath, acting director of research at the Thailand-based International Institute for Trade and Development concurred, suggesting that key players pooled together their resources in terms of research, marketing and promotion as well as develop a world standard for palm oil.

Malaysia, he said, had taken the first step in collaborating with Indonesia in terms of palm oil initiatives.

Boustead Holdings Bhd senior general manager (estate department) Hussein Jalil said issues like palm oil sustainability, food safety, supply chain management and trade liberalisation needed to be addressed, given changes in the global market, especially with opportunities arising in new growth areas such as biofuel, biomass and biotechnology.

Managing director of palm oil mill maker CB Industrial Product Holding Bhd (CBIP), Lim Chai Beng, said the company's Made-In- Malaysia Modipalm mill was proven to be able to produce quality oil as well as efficiently reduce operation costs among palm oil millers. 

Rabobank International head (corporate banking) Anton Thimpers said prospects of the Malaysian palm oil sector seemed bright.