14 April, 2004 - MALAYSIA’S palm kernel cake industry received anotherboost with the invention of a machine that improves the quality of thepalm oil by-products and hence, improved demands.

Palm kernel cake is the leftover of an oil palm fruit which has beensqueezed to extract its crude palm oil content. The by-product consistsmainly of nut, shell and fibres.

It can then be processed into animal feed for cattle and chickens.However, Malaysia’s palm kernel cake contains more than 15 per cent ofshell which is unacceptable in livestock feed formulation such as inEurope.

Malaysia exported 1.8 million tonnes of palm kernel cake last year worthRM336 million in export earnings.

Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) director general Datuk Dr Yusof Basironsaid the machine branded as Rolek Dynamic Cracker can reduce shell contentin palm kernel cake to less than 5 per cent.

The commodity’s protein content can be increased to 27 per cent from 15per cent, at par with soyabean cake, hence more marketable in previouslyinaccessible markets.

“With the advent of the machine, our palm kernel cake will be of higherquality and hopefully can penetrate deeper into the lucrative Europeananimal feed market.

“Its price can also improve from the current RM1,200 a tonne and somepoultry breeders who import animal feed can also save on foreign exchange,Yusof told reporters in Bangi yesterday after a signing ceremony.

“Not only that, Indonesia and Thailand have also expressed interest in themachine should it be succesfully commercialised here, said Yusof.

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