Palm biodiesel exports rise despite NGO attacks

The Star 12 Nov 09;

KUALA LUMPUR: Local palm biodiesel exports to the European Union (EU) and the United States have continued to rise this year despite the ongoing attacks on palm oil greenhouse gas (GHG) emission issues as well as anti-palm oil campaigns by non-governmental organisations, said Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) director-general Datuk Dr Mohd Basri Wahid.

As at end-August, some 167,846 tonnes of local palm biodiesel had been exported compared with a total of 182,108 tonnes exported in the whole of 2008.

“I expect the palm biodiesel export for 2009 will match last year’s figure,” Basri said at the final day of MPOB’s International Palm Oil Congress 2009 (PIPOC 2009) yesterday.

However, production volume so far this year was under 10% of the total installed capacity of the local biodiesel plants in operation, he said.

Malaysia currently produces almost two milllion tonnes of palm biodiesel per year.

“Despite the approved 91 biodiesel licences, the number of plants built and in operation is still very low given the current high feedstock (palm oil) prices,” Basri said.

Basri said only seven biodiesel plants were in operation. “Eleven new plants are under construction while 52 plants are still under planning,” he added.

He expects palm biodiesel demand to remain slow going forward given the strict EU’s legislation on GHG emission and the land use issue in the United States.

Furthermore, weak demand for the B5 fuel programme in the domestic market is not helping the progress of palm biodiesel in the country, leaving producers with no margin to sustain production.

“The Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry will soon be submitting a paper to the Cabinet on proposals to deal with the palm biodiesel issues and possibly introduce B3 fuel,” said Basri.

Meanwhile, The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) secretary-general Dr Vengeta Rao said the RSPO principles and criteria (P&C) for independent smallholders were expected to be completed by the first half of 2010.

RSPO hoped to come out with the generic P&C for independent smallholders by February and this would lead to more smallholders working towards getting the RSPO certification and start producing more certified sustainable palm oil, he said.

At the same time, the RSPO P&C for local smallholders under the Government schemes was still under development while the RSPO P&C for Indonesian smallholders under schemes was now completed, he added.

He also said RSPO expected its membership to increase to 400 by year-end from 389 currently. — By HANIM ADNAN


Threat to market access looms
Hanim Adnan, The Star 12 Nov 09;

KUALA LUMPUR: The climate change and sustainability issues promoted by the “greenies” groups in the West to label palm oil as unsustainable are fast turning into political agendas and will soon become trade barriers imposed by Western countries to hamper the export of palm oil by producing nations, said Malaysian Palm Oil Council deputy chief executive officer Dr Kalyana Sundram.

He said growing concerns over the environmental issue by developed countries could translate into limiting the market access for palm oil through innovative non-tariff trade barriers and levying discriminatory tariffs mainly to protect and promote their own crop industries.

To successfully compete in the developed countries’ markets, palm oil producers had to succumb to the constantly changing “sustainable” requirements imposed by the developed nations and the non-govermental organisations (NGOs), Kalyana said at a panel discussion on “Trade and Environmental Challenges: A Reconcilliation” at the close of Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) International Palm Oil Congress 2009 (PIPOC 2009).

Indonesia Palm Oil Commission president Dr Rosediana Suharto said: “Fighting with the NGOs on the issue of carbon emissions in the peatland areas is a sheer waste of energy.

“Talking to industry people either business-to-business or government-to-government will be a much better platform for oil palm planters to be heard.”

She claims that NGOs would change their objectives depending on where they got their financial resources from.

Indonesia which is the third largest carbon dioxide emitters in the world, is heavily criticised by NGOs given its oil palm plantations’ expansion into peatland areas.

By 2010, Indonesia’s palm oil production is expected to increase by about 21 million tonnes.

To counter the negative claims on palm oil, United Plantations Bhd director of research Dr Gurmit Singh said Malaysia, for example ,must form a strong, articulate team to challenge the unfounded accusations by NGOs and developed nations that are against palm oil.

In this regard, the work by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification programme for oil palm planters was honourable, he said. However, the RSPO needs to iron out the issues on the greenhouse gas emission by the EU with its planter members, as “many believe that the strict RSPO eight principles, 39 criteria and 25 indicators were enough to address the issue on sustainability.”

Netherlands Embassy in Malaysia’s agriculture counsellor Adrie de Roo said sustainability was the key political issue that was of priority to the Netherlands.

He said about one million tonnes of palm oil was exported to Rotterdam annually.

“There are many consumers like Unilever as well as Malaysian palm oil companies with refineries in the Netherlands like IOI Group and Sime Darby, providing jobs to our people,” he said, adding that the country has an unbiased and balanced position on palm oil.