Berita Arkib

09 October 2002 (Business Times) - SABAH’S plantation sector is capable ofproducing 10 million tonnes of biomass a year.Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Chong Kah Kiat said as such, the state’sprivate sector should consider exploiting the economic potential of thisorganic waste.“Biomass can be used as raw material for medium density particle boards,pulp and paper and decomposed organic fetiliser. It can also be used togenerate electricity,” he said at a luncheon hosted by the MalaysianInternational Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI) Sabah branch inKota Kinabalu yesterday.He also said apart from just producing cooking oil from palm oil,manufacturers must explore opportunities in producing confectionary fats,creamers, emulsifiers and non-food products such as oleo-chemicals,bio-fuels, detergents, personal care items and lubricants.Chong said Sabah is strategically located to tap the consumer markets inBrunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.He said the state has the potential to become a centre to manufactureproducts such as electrical items.“Our small and medium industries have the capacity to match the needs ofthe spending power of the 60 million population in the region.“Manufacturers would not face problems in shipping the manufactured itemsconsidering Sabah location and the volume of business they could tap.”

08 October 2002 (Business Times) - MALAYSIA has managed to convince theFood and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to accord rubber plantations asplanted forest.

KUCHING, Oct 7 (Bernama) -- Three companies involved in the manufacturingand palm oil industries in Sarawak have been charged so far this year withdischarging effluents without complying with the Environmental QualityRegulations.Sarawak Department of Environment (DOE) Director Dr Abdul Rahman Awangsaid Monday that in the latest case, a palm oil mill in Kuching divisionwas fined RM15,000 last month for not meeting the DOE standards for thedischarge of effluents.

ROMPIN, Oct 2 (Bernama) -- Tenaga Nasional Berhad has agreed in principleto buy electricity generated by Felda using bio-mass technology.TNB chairman Datuk Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis said a TNB subsidiary, Tenaga SPLSdn Bhd, and Felda were experimenting the effectiveness of oil palm husksin power production."Soon we will sign an agreement to buy electricity from Felda so theproject can succeed," he told reporters after attending a Felda functionnear here Wednesday. Dr Jamaluddin is the member of parliament for Rompin.Felda chairman Tan Sri Dr Yusof Noor, who was present, said the agencywould construct four power stations powered by oil palm husks, as part ofFelda's downstream activities.Dr Jamaluddin said Felda would supply 20 megawatts of electricity to eachof the power stations.TNB will buy the electricity at 18 sen per unit. At present, it is paying12 sen for gas generated electricity and 13 sen for coal produced power."Even though we will buy from Felda at a higher price, we will only bedistributing to customers in the areas concerned...no grid cost isinvolved here," he added. -- BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 (Bernama) -- Alami Vegetable Oil Products Sdn Bhd, amanufacturer of palm oil products, plans to set up a palm oil processingplants in Xian, China, with investments worth US$8.5 million.Chief executive officer, Mohamad Radwan Alami told Bernama recently thatthe company had teamed up with a Chinese party and the joint-venture waspending final approvals from the local authorities.Radwan was following the Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation(Matrade) trade and investment mission led by Minister of InternationalTrade and Industry, Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz to Xian, Chongqing andShanghai, from Sept 22 to 29, 2002.He said his company would be holding a 70 percent stake in thejoint-venture and the plant would have a production capacity of 180,000tonnes a year.Alami has been exporting about 4,000 tonnes of palm oil products to Chinaa year but Radwan said it was difficult to expand his business furtherwithout having a joint-venture.There are currently three vegetable oil plants in Xian, of which oneprocesses palm oil. This plant is a joint-venture between Malaysia,Singapore and Chinese investors.Radwan had also followed the Matrade investment mission to Beijing, Dalianand Shanghai last May where an agreement was signed between Alami andChina's Guangdong Kanghui Group Company for the processing anddistribution of palm oil products.However, the deal had yet to materialise as the Chinese party is stillwaiting for the processing licence.Under this deal, Alami would be investing between US$800,000 to US$1.0million to modify an existing soya bean crusher plant in Wuhan into arefinery to process palm oil.He said the plant had not been running for three years and had been usedas a distribution centre with a storage capacity of 600,000 tonnes.Radwan has been involved in the palm oil business for the past 13 yearsand the company has eight vegetable oil plants in Africa, Sri Lanka aswell as some Asean countries.Alami also exports palm oil products to the Middle East and has beeninvolved in the "Oil for Food Programme" by exporting to Iraq since1997.-- BERNAMA

27 Sept.2002 (Business Times) - A CONSORTIUM of Malaysian plantationcompanies is mulling construction of storage tanks for palm oil in severalAfrican states to tap the RM1 billion-a- year market.

SRI KEMBANGAN, Sept 27 (NSTP) - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr MahathirMohamad is scheduled to make an official visit to New Delhi on Oct 16 and17 to further boost bilateral ties.

TANAH MERAH, Sept 24 (NSTP) - Settlers who engage the service of Felda toreplant the old oil palm trees at their holdings stand to get betterreturns.Felda general manager (Kelantan region) Rosla Ali said the seedlingssupplied to them could boost production to up to 45 tonnes for everyhectare.

09/25/2002 (Financial Times) - Diesel has a bum rap in this part of theworld. Unlike in Europe where motorists have long discovered the benefitsof diesel-powered vehicles, Filipinos usually equate the word with thechoking fumes of jeepneys, trucks and Asian utility vehicles clogging theroads.One local company is aiming to change all that and more: Senbel FineChemical Co. Inc., an oleochemical firm located in Lucena City, ispreaching the benefits of its biodiesel product, not only as analternative fuel but also as a means of reviving the country's coconutindustry and boosting energy security.Senbel president Jose Ermelo S. Santos, in a recent talk, said hiscompany's efforts are in line with efforts of the government's NationalClean Diesel Task Force, which aims to promote an alternative market forcoconut oil derivatives and establish acceptance of clean diesel fuel.He explained that biodiesel, or vegetable derived esters, is actually thesame ingredient as that used in making soap. It, however, can be used innormal diesel engines, as a blend or a total substitute, without the needfor costly engine modification.Among others, it is a renewable form of energy, reduces harmful emissions,engine-friendly, safe to store due to a higher flashpoint, biodegra-dableand non-toxic.Coconut oil VDE, in particular, has advantages over biodiesel sourced fromrapeseed, soybean or sunflower oil, which is already used in Europe andother parts of the world. In particular, coconut-based biodiesel has ahigher cetane (octane for gasoline) rating of 70, better than other VDEsand even that of petroleum diesel which has a high of 55.Stricter curbs on the sulfur content of petroleum diesel also means lowerlubricity, putting biodiesel's lubricating properties to the fore forvehicle owners concerned with engine wear and tear.This puts the Philippines in an ideal position to benefit from thisalternative fuel, Mr. Santos claimed.While the government is exploring other alternative fuel options such ascompressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied petroluem gas (LPG), one majordrawback is the costs required to build CNG/LPG refilling stations andconverting vehicles, he said.Cost, however, is also biodiesel's caveat. At three to five times moreexpensive than petroleum diesel, this would mean astronomical per literprices. Costs could be reduced if the government provides some incentives,but Mr. Santos is banking on diesel blends instead of pure biodiesel topromote Senbel's product.In terms of lubricity, for example, very little additional benefit isgained if one moves to 100% biodiesel from a 20% blend, he said.Senbel is currently marketing two products: Estrol 2T to meet the oilrequirements of two-stroke gas engines such as motorcycles, and EstrolBiodiesel which a diesel vehicle owner can purchase to blend with everytank.Mr. Santos warns that initial use may mean frequent oil filter changes fora time as biodiesel's solvent properties will dissolve petrodieseldeposits clogging fuel lines, tanks and delivery systems.The company is currently exploring supply options with government agenciessuch as the Metro Manila Development Authority and has in fact convincedthe Lucena City government to endorse its products.

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 24 (Bernama) -- Malaysia wants to carve a niche in thefield of agricultural biotechnology by capitalising on the richness of itsbio-diversity and making the field another platform for its economicgrowth.The move would make the country distinctive among countries which haveattained advancement in biotechnology undertakings, like Australia, Japan,China, Korea and India, Science, Technolgy and Environment Minister DatukSeri Law Hieng Ding said."Malaysia realises that the developed countries are technology-rich, whilewe are bio-resource-rich," he told Bernama in an interview recently.bio-resources and at the same time rank itself among countries advanced inbiotechnology, he said,At the moment, compared with other countries in the Asia-Pacific, Malaysiawas not doing "too badly", especially in agricultural biotechnology, hesaid.Malaysia, being the world leader in the production of several industrialcrops such as palm oil, rubber, cocoa, pepper and tropical timber, hadbuilt a strong agricultural base.Coupled with its rich biodiversity and investments in informationcommunication technology (ICT) infrastructure, it was in an advantageousposition to embark on biotechnology as the next platform for economicgrowth, he said.The government has recognised bioctechnology as one of the five keytechnologies which will help Malaysia become a developed nation and thenext platform for economic growth.To symbolise its commitment, the government has proposed the developmentof the Bio-Valley as a hub for biotechnology activities.The Bio-Valley, proposed under the Eighth Malaysia Plan and to be locatedwithin the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), will house biotechnologyresearch institutions, universities and specialised companies.The biotechnology industry worldwide is projected to generate more thanUS$400 billion in terms of value and 1.2 million places in terms ofemployment by 2010.Law said that although the strongest competitor for Malaysia in the Aseanregion in the biotechnology industry was Singapore, it had no intention tocompete with the island republic."While Singapore has decided to focus on biomedical sciences, Malaysia isfocusing on the sustainable utilisation for its mega bio-resources throughagricultural biotechnology," he said.He said that in the pursuit to develop its biotechnology industry,Malaysia welcomed strategic alliances and research partnerships with theinternational scientific community to undertake joint research anddevelopment and discovery of bioactive compounds from its vast and diversebio-resources.Law said the benefits derived from the commercialization of thediscoveries would be shared equitably between the partners."Much synergy can be gained by working in partnership, including sharingthe benefits of these endeavours," he said.To avoid bio-piracy and promote sustainable development, Law said, thegovernment was formulating a regulatory framework called Access andBenefit-Sharing Bill."This will provide a framework to access our bio-resources and at the sametime provide guidelines on how to share its benefits," he said.He said Malaysia was confident that the biotechnology industry would bewell developed by 2020."We are confident that with all the initiatives, full commitment andsupport, by year 2020, if Malaysia is not fully developed inbiotechnology, it will be quite well developed," he said.

09/16/2002 (Financial Time) DAVAO CITY - The first village-level coconutoil processing mill run by agrarian reform beneficiaries in Mindanao,worth P2.9 million, was recently built by members of the Lawa WorkersMultipurpose Cooperative in Don Marcelino, Davao del Sur.The cooperative formed the Lawa integrated coconut processing plant withassistance from the United Nations Development Programme's Support forAgrarian Reform Development for Indigenous Community (UNDP-SARDIC), LandBank of the Philippines (Landbank), and Department of Agrarian Reform(DAR).The plant can process up to 10,000 nuts, or the equivalent of 2,250 kilosof copra, per sixteen hours, two-shift, operation into 1,140 kilos or1,239 liters of refined, bleached and deodorized cooking oil, the mainproduct, and 680 kilos of copra cake daily.The plant will also be engaged in the improvement of the cooperative'spresent operation of charcoal-making.This activity aims at increasing charcoal recovery and reduce exposure tocharcoal kiln smoke hazards, which is possible through the replacement ofthe current drum kiln with a new kiln dubbed Pag-asa.UNDP-SARDIC provided P1.2 million of the total project cost, LandbankP1.17 million and the beneficiaries P500,000.The cooperative, as part of the Lawa agrarian reform community, has 106agrarian reform beneficiaries, 95% of whom belongs to the B'Laan-Manobotribe.The cooperative has become the owner of a 330-hectare coconut farm underthe Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. The farm produces an average of3.9 million nuts per year.Before the processing plant, the cooperative used traditional dryingfacilities which were able to process about 998,000 tons of copra reapingan annual profit of roughly P632,000.With the availability of the processing plant, the economic benefits areexpected to be much higher.Jose Ponce, DAR assistant secretary for support services, said thepioneering venture could be replicated in other coconut producing areas."It all started with a desire of the Lawa cooperative members to addressthe problem of low farm incomes from their coconut products due to thevolatile and fluctuating prices of copra," Mr. Ponce said.He urged beneficiaries and all project stakeholders to make the projectsustainable, viable and profitable by keeping the cooperative strong.

09/07/2002 (Financial Times - Asia Intelligence Wire) - The Government ofIndia proposes to lift restrictions on futures trading in crude palm oil.Now, the Government has banned futures trading in 81 commodities.The lifting of curbs on futures trading in crude palm oil enablesarbitrage between the 2 exchanges, thereby improving the scope forco-operation between the 2 exchanges. The Malaysian Derivatives Exchangehandles about 1,25,000 tonnes per day of the commodity (crude palm oil).India accounts for about 40-50 percent foreign participation in theMalaysian Derivatives Exchange. The prominence for crude palm oil willincrease, as the gap in the differential tariffs between crude palm oiland soybean oil is narrowed. The fixation of basic import price by Indiawill have a positive impact on crude palm oil price.