12/05/2009 (Straits Times, Singapore), Kuala Lumpur - A MALAYSIAN conglomerate said on Tuesday it has sequenced the genome for the oil palm, a development that will allow it to produce new varieties that will double yields of the edible oil.

Sime Darby, the world's largest listed palm oil producer, said it had achieved the breakthrough in a project with biotech firm Synamatix which had analysed 93.8 per cent of the plant's genome.

'With this breakthrough, Sime Darby is ready to lead and change the future of the oil palm industry,' Sime Darby Plantations managing director Azhar Abdul Hamid told a press conference.

'In 2008, Sime Darby had an oil yield of about 5.0 metric tons per hectare for Malaysia and with this we will be able to double oil yield to 10 to 12 metric tons of palm oil,' he added.

Mr Azhar said that within 10 years, 15 per cent of its palm oil estates would be replanted with the improved varieties and that all estates would have the new variety within 30 years.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said the development would lead to price stability and support the alternative fuel industry, which has faltered due to uncertain supply as the price of the commodity has plunged last year.

'It will be possible for us to raise yields so high, food supply needs will never be an issue again and we will be able to feed the need for alternative fuels as well with increased palm oil production,' he said.

'What I hope this means is that we can expect more price stability as we will be able to control palm oil supply to fulfil all sorts of new demand,' he said at the Sime Darby event.

Mr Najib said that Malaysian crude palm oil production reached 17.73 million tons in 2008, an increase of 1.91 million tons or 12.1 per cent from 2007.

Export earnings from oil palm products rose to RM65.2 billion (S$27 billion) in 2008 from RM45.17 billion in 2007, he said. Crude palm oil prices plummeted from a peak of RM4,312 per tonne in early 2008 to a low of RM1,390 in October last year. Prices have recovered somewhat to around RM2,700 per tonne. -AFP-