Asia Palm Oil Magazine Vol 4 No 1 by fbipublicationsmalaysia

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

PUBLISHER Fireworks Business Information (M) Sdn Bhd (1037694-W)

my@fireworksbi.com MANAGING DIRECTOR Dato’ Jerel Soo MARKETING DIRECTOR Danen Soo

EDITOR’S MESSAGE Dear Readers,

Honorably present to you Volume 4 First Issue of Asia Palm Oil Magazine! Once again, deep appreciation to all our readers for your consistent support which has made FBI grow stronger from year to year. Endless gratitude to my editorial board as well, for their sedulous hard work and efficient team work which lead us more towards success. I believe we are able to go further by having these supportive spirits, at the same time continuously work out for quality and knowledgeable publication for each of you!

PUBLICATION MANAGER Charlyne Lee charlyne@fireworksbi.com PUBLICATION EXECUTIVE Vanny Lim Nur Izyan binti Dzulkifli DESIGNER Diong Wai Kit EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS Kenny Yong CONTRIBUTOR Alfa Laval Emilia Azyyati Binti Abdul Rahman (Wah Seong Corporation Berhad) Fireworks Business Information (M) Sdn Bhd (1037694-W)

48-3A, Jal an PJU 5/11, Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Tel: (+603) 6148 3488 / 6148 4088 Fax: (+603) 6148 4811 DISTRIBUTED BY: Central Paper Agencies Sdn Bhd (111330-T) 11, Jalan SS 13/3C, Subang Jaya Industrial Estate, 47500 Selangor Darul Ehsan. Tel: (+603) 5636 1278 / 5636 1358 Fax: (+603) 5636 1952 Email: cpa@tm.net.my Website: http://www.centralreader.net PRINTED BY: Percetakan Seasons Sdn Bhd No.3, Jalan 8/155, Bukit Jalil Integrated Business Park, Jalan Klang Lama 58200 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: (+603) 7785 6960 Fax: (+603) 7785 6961 Email: p_season@streamyx.com Available at the following major bookstores and other outlets:

In the meantime, we are honored to announce that Malaysia Biomass Industries Confederation (MBIC) has become our new endorsed and supported member. Welcome! MBIC is a non-profit organization served to develop biomass industries in Malaysia through strategic partnership with biomass SMEs and major feedstock owners, as well as research institutes and international bodies. They aspire to lead Malaysia to be recognized as the biomass hub internationally. We are proud to be given a chance to collaborate with this organization that treats the sustainable issue much seriously and by this, we hope to create more sustainability awareness among our readers. With a good of chance, FBI Malaysia has attended The 3rd ICIS Asian Oleochemicals Conference, held from 4th-5th February 2015 at Royal Park Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. Besides, Reach and Remind Friends of the Industry Seminar 2015 and Dialogue is another major event to be highlighted in this issue. It was organized by Malaysia Palm Oil Council (MPOC), on 12th February 2015 at Putrajaya Marriot Hotel. Actively involving in these palm oil related events enable our team to bring stories, interviews and articles to capture the whole palm oil industry which is our publishing mission. Moreover, I am excited to introduce Shinko Steam Turbine model RB4, the first locally assembled Shinko Steam Turbine by PMT Shinko Turbine Sdn Bhd, an associate of Wah Seong Corporation Berhad (WSC). Alfa Laval D3 PRO 3-phase oil recovery process, a more sustainable and cost advantage crude palm oil process, is also being introduced to the palm oil industry. As we can see, technology innovations are growing actively in our industry which directly boosts up the market activity as well. We are thankful for individuals or companies who make their contribution to this industry. Find out more about these technology news and details at “Technology and Product News” section! Last but not the least, information sharing is never ending. You are welcome to share your knowledge or any informative article with us. Feel free to contact our team members at +603 6148 3488. Cheers! Charlyne Lee Editor

CONTENTS ORGANIZATION NEWS

08 Golden Land Buys Oil Palm Plantation Abroad

INDUSTRY NEWS 10 Indonesia To Expand Biodiesel Blending To Boost Palm Oil Prices 11 Uggah: Studies Show A Need To Reinstate CPO Tax Regime

RIFINERY NEWS

12 Oil Mills To Close Down From Today

22 Genting Plantations, Musim Mas To Build 600,000 Tonnes/Year Palm Refinery

Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA) has decided to close down their mills from today (16th March 2015) for indefinite period as the Punjab government started strict implementation of cut in ghee price by Rs15 per kilogram.

Malaysian oil palm planter Genting Plantations Bhd said it has entered into an agreement with Indonesia’s Musim Mas Group to build a 300 million ringgit ($82.17 million) palm oil refinery in the Borneo island of Sabah.

13 Indonesia Issues Policies To Improve Economic Performance 14 Palm Oil A Catalyst For Sarawak Economic Growth

24 European Refinery Plans Threaten Biofuel Glut

16 Sarawak’s Plantation Sector Poised For Average Growth

COVER STORY 26 Interview With Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Yusof Basiron, CEO Of Malaysian Palm Oil Council

17 Indonesia May Give Tax Breaks To Support New Biodiesel Mandates

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

30 Procurement Corner

18 FG Policies Attract N800bn To Nigeria’s Agric Sector

IN THE HOT SEAT

20 Sierra Leone News: Paramount Chiefs Embrace Palm Oil Project

32 Interview With Datuk Darrel Webber, Secretary General Of RSPO

21 Khammam To Be Oil Bowl, Says Minister 20

TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCT NEWS

48 Alfa Laval D3 PRO 50 First Locally Assembled Shinko Steam Turbine Launched In Malaysia

THE PLANTER’S CORNER 52 Cameroon: Government Assures Farmers Of Free Seedlings 53 Indonesia Palm Oil Battle Pits Farmers Against Big Plantations - TRFN

GREEN SOLUTION 36 Neste Oil Claims World Leadership In Biofuels From Waste, Residue 38 Scientists Say That “Oil Palm Plantations Hover Water Quality” 40 Regulating Access To Palm Oil Based Biogas Facilitates Rural Electrification

EVENT HIGHLIGHT 54 Malaysia Biomass Industries Continue To Flourish 57 World’s First Mspo Lead Auditor Course! 58

42 A Palm Oil King Develops A Green Conscience

FBI IN ACTION 58 Reach And Remind Friends Of The Industry Seminar 2015 And Dialogue

DID YOU KNOW ?

62 Grown By The People, For The People, An Insight Into The Small People Of The Palm Oil Industry

46 Early Research Suggests Palm Polyphenols May Lower Diabetes Symptoms

63 Malaysian Palmoil Council’s Essay Writing Competition 2015

47 Use Of Nanohybrid Biocomposite Reduces Cost Of Building Fish Cages

64 World Palm Portraits Photography Competition, Discovering Nature’s Gift Through Photography

ORGANIZATION NEWS

‘WHO AM I” GOLDEN LAND CORNER BUYS OIL PALM PLANTATION ABROAD

Mr. Yeo Koon Lian has vast experience in all aspects of technical issues pertaining to Palm Oil Milling Machineries for more than 40 years. YKL Group had cooperated and worked with large numbers of international palm oil players on Turnkey Projects for Kernel Crushing Plants and Empty Fruit Bunch Projects, ranging from small to large scale by offering the machineries and equipment that we had manufactured, besides YKL Group also supply spare parts and after sale services for the Plants that we had installed and commissioned. YKL Group’s business coverage includes countries grown with oil palm trees, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Thailand in South East Asia, and also Africa and Latin America. The successors of the business are now lies with Mr. Yeo’s 3 sons and the dedicated team of work-force, which includes staffs in the Management, Marketing, Finance & Accounting, Engineering, Research & Development, Purchasing, Shipping & Logistic and artisans in the Production Plant. Source: http://welcome.ykl.com.my/

PETALING JAYA: Golden Land Bhd is acquiring controlling stakes in two plantation companies, with permits to develop a total of 26,600ha in Sulawesi in Indonesia for US$5.73mil cash (RM20.65mil). In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the company announced that it entered into two conditional sale and purchase agreements (CSPA) yesterday with vendor Hery Hermawan Herijanto to acquire 68.75% in Parimo Agri Holding Pte Ltd (PAH) and Parigi Plantation Holding Pte Ltd (PPH) for US$3.25mil and US$2.49mil respectively. While PAH and PPH are incorporated in Singapore with S$10,000 in paid-up share capital comprising 10,000 shares each, both companies have subsidiaries registered in central Sulawesi, Indonesia. PAH has an 80% stake in PT Ampibabo Agro Lestari, which has a location permit of 15,067ha, while PPH’s 80% subsidiary PT Agri Toribulu Asri has a location permit land of 11,533ha. The acquisition provides Golden Land with the opportunity to acquire oil palm plantation overseas. “The scarcity of arable land and acute shortage of labour are the main challenges for our group to expand our land bank locally,’’ it said.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

Golden Land said RM20.65mil would be paid to Herijanto in two tranches. The first tranche would be 20% of the total amount to PAH and PPH respectively upon completion of the acquisition. The remaining payment would be made subsequent to the closing of the CSPA. Golden Land said the acquisition would be financed by internallygenerated funds and bank borrowings. While the acquisition is not subject to the approval of shareholders, it is subject to approvals from relevant authorities in Indonesia. The company expects the acquisition to be completed within five months. “The global dependence on palm oil is expected to continue to rise with the increasing demand for soya oil as a source of biodiesel,” it said in the filing with Bursa. Golden Land said it did not expect the proposed acquisition to materially impact its earnings and net assets for the year ending June 30, 2015 but expected it to contribute positively to its long-term earnings. Source: The Star Online

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10 INDUSTRY NEWS

INDONESIA TO EXPAND BIODIESEL BLENDING TO BOOST PALM OIL PRICES

ndonesia plans to increase blending of palm oil with diesel this year to cut costs of importing fossil fuel and shore up prices of the world’s most-used vegetable oil. The world’s largest palm oil producer will raise the blending rate to 15 percent this year from 10 percent and subsequently to 20 percent, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Sofyan Djalil said in Jakarta on Friday. The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry may notify higher blending rule next week and it will be effective immediately, Djalil said. Increased use of palm oil in biodiesel may reduce supply of the vegetable oil and support prices, he said. President Joko Widodo’s government, which more than doubled its subsidy for palm biofuels last month, is seeking to contain a persistent current-account deficit and revive flagging economic growth. Palm oil has lost 20 percent in the past year as a slump in crude oil cut demand for biofuel and record global

soybean harvest reduced demand for cooking oil from China and and India, the largest consumers. Indonesia has promoted biofuel usage to help absorb rising supplies of the world’s most-traded edible oil, which is used in foods and cosmetics, and to cut carbon emissions. Biodiesel is blended with regular diesel, produced from crude oil, for use as a transportation and industrial fuel. The country in 2013 boosted the mandated amount of blending in diesel to 10 percent from 7.5 percent, and in 2014 ordered power plants to mix 20 percent. The government last month increased the subsidy on biodiesel to 4,000 rupiah (30 U.S. cents) a liter from 1,500 rupiah. The slump in crude oil prices threatens Indonesia’s plan to boost biodiesel consumption to 1.7 million kiloliters this year, Derom Bangun, chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Board, said on Feb. 18. Source: Bloomberg

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

Indonesia has promoted biofuel usage to help absorb rising supplies of the world’s most-traded edible oil, which is used in foods and cosmetics, and to cut carbon emissions.

INDUSTRY NEWS

UGGAH: STUDIES SHOW A NEED TO REINSTATE CPO TAX REGIME

he 4.5 per cent export duty on Malaysian crude palm oil (CPO) for April 2015, has taken into account various studies that suggest the tax regime needs to be restored, says Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister, Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas. He said the rate to be enforced was calculated based on the average CPO price of RM2,288 per tonne during the first two weeks of March, with the threshold CPO tax of RM2,250 per tonne. "At this particular price range, the export tax rate will be at 4.5 per cent for the month of April.

"After various studies (done), we found a need to reinstate the export tax rate," he told reporters after hosting a visit by Iranian parliamentarians to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board's (MPOB) headquarters here today. Malaysia, the world's secondlargest palm oil producer, exempted the export tax on CPO from Sept 1, 2014 to Feb 28, 2015, to boost exports and reduce inventories. According to a Royal Customs Department's circular posted on the MPOB website, the price range of CPO for April is expected to be between RM2,250 and RM2,400 per tonne.

MPOB said the department would raise the tax if the reference price of exports was above RM2,250 per tonne. On another note, Uggah said a new standard operating procedure on curbing the issue of stolen fresh fruit bunches (FFB) in Sarawak would be implemented on April 2. "This is to minimise cases of FFB theft in future. It is very pertinent as it affects the industry with investors feeling it is unprofitable in Sarawak, with losses to the government," he added. About 250 cases of stolen FFB in Sarawak were reported in 2013, caused million of ringgit in losses for the oil palm industry. Last year, the MPOB issued 278 compounds and at the same time, terminated three business licenses and suspended 24 others, while imposing eight compounds. It also issued six warning letters. Source: Bernama

L E A D I N G T H E W AY W I T H RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

12 INDUSTRY NEWS

OIL MILLS TO CLOSE DOWN FROM TODAY

Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA) has decided

to close down their mills from today (16th March 2015) for indefinite period as the Punjab

government started strict implementation of cut in ghee price by Rs15 per kilogram.

ounds of talks between the PVMA, Punjab Food Minister Bilal Yasin, Secretary Industry Punjab Dawood Muhammad Bareach and other government officials remained inconclusive as the minister, and secretary industry showed their inability to take any decision on it. Dawood Muhammad Bareach talking to The News confirmed that the talks with PVMA along with Food Minister Bilal Yasin were held Friday. However, he said that no decision was taken by them in the meeting. ‘I am going to brief MPA Rana Sanaullah about the talks with the PVMA who will update it to Chief Minister’, he said, adding that the CM would take any decision about it. On the other hand, PVMA Spokesperson Ch Waheed talking to The News confirmed that ghee manufacturers in Punjab had decided to shut down their mills from today (Saturday) for indefinite time. ‘No authority can forcefully ask us to run the mills and produce ghee as it is not flour or sugar which is produced by indigenous raw material’, he said, adding that in the past, the Punjab government had forcefully controlled and reduced the prices of sugar and wheat flour. ‘If the ghee mill owner will not open Letter of Credit L/C for import of palm oil, then how the production of ghee is possible’, similarly ‘if an importer did not transport its imported palm oil from Karachi to Lahore for few days or sold it to someone else in Karachi, then how the Punjab government can ensure ghee production’, Waheed said, this message was clearly conveyed to the Punjab government in Friday meetings.

He said the Punjab government Friday forcefully ensured only 10 percent of total supply while 90 percent remained suspended. Now, remaining supply will also suspend from today (Saturday), so the crisis of availability of ghee is going to start from tomorrow (Sunday) onwards if the Punjab government will not revert its decision, Waheed warned.

asking to reduce the price while other three provincial governments were comfortable with the existing ghee prices. If the Punjab CM wanted to close down the ghee mills in the province, then do happily, as the public would take him to task when they would know that it was being openly available in other provinces markets.

In the meeting, the PVMA has suggested the government to fix two different prices of ghee. One is for brands and the other for non-brands. Justifying the suggestion, the PVMA has quoted that as the premium buyers who have been buying capacity always pay more, so is the case with ghee and cooking oils.

The PVMA spokesperson said the ghee manufacturers of the province had recently reduced the price of Ghee by Rs5 to 10 per kg on the request of the Punjab government. Now, instead of giving them honour, the Punjab government had come to screw them, giving free hands to milk industry.

Ch Waheed setting example by the rulers of the Punjab said that why the Punjab government was not reducing the package milk, as it has the major share in package milk business in the province. The rulers’ milk company has been buying milk from milkmen at Rs50 to 60litre while selling its Rs120 per litre, Waheed said, questioning does it not an exorbitant profiteering by them and other political people in the Punjab. ‘If the Punjab government curtails its milk prices and break cartel of milk business, then it will be at high moral grounds to ask other business to reduce their prices’, he commented.

Meanwhile, Punjab Agriculture Minister Dr Farrukh Javed has instructed the Price Control Magistrates of the Province to start crackdown against those not decreasing the prices of ghee and oil as per the new orders.

Another official of the PVMA said that the Association in a meeting had also decided not to bring imported palm oil to Lahore rather to sell it to Sindh and other provinces-based ghee mills. The Association has made this decision principally and now it would not withdraw it, he added.

Dr Farrukh Javed said the Punjab government issued orders of reducing Rs15 per kg/litre in the prices of ghee and vegetable oil under Section 3 of Price Control and Prevention of Profiteering and Hoarding Act 1977. He warned the profiteers that imprisonment up to three years and a fine Rs100,000 could be imposed on violation.

Waheed said it was a surprise that only Punjab Chief Minister was

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

Addressing a department meeting regarding action against the profiteers Friday, he said due to the substantial decrease in the price of palm oil being used in vegetable ghee and edible oil in international market, more than 18 percent production cost had decreased but the economic benefit could not reach the people due to connivance of profiteers.

Source: Bloomberg

INDUSTRY NEWS 13

INDONESIA ISSUES POLICIES TO IMPROVE ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE In the tourism sector the Indonesian government would starting in April give a free-visa facility to 30 new countries, the minister said. With the decision, he said, a total of 45 countries would enjoy the facility as soon as the policy is effective. On mining and natural resources he said the Indonesian government would implement a Letter of Credit system policy for companies operating in coal, oil and gas and crude palm oil business. “The essence is we have created the L/C regulation in such a way as to not creating distortion and so there is no need to worry that long-term contracts will be cut due to the L/C implementation because the price will drop. That will not happen,” he said.

he Indonesian government has issued a number of policies to improve the countrys economic performance and continue national economic structural reform. “The first policy is tax allowance for companies investing in Indonesia, companies creating employment, companies that are export-oriented and companies that carry out research and development,” the countrys coordinating minister for economic affairs Sofyan Djalil said at a press conference at the presidential office here on Monday. He said the government would also give a tax incentive to several shipyards and companies that manufacture agricultural equipment.

“We will also issue an antidumping policy by imposing a temporary anti-dumping tax and a temporary security import tax on imported products that are traded unfairly through dumping to protect domestic industries,” he said. Sofyan said that “this has long been discussed and fought by several industries and of course we would conduct a thorough study and impose the police selectively so that no industry is to be disrupted by the policy but the ultimate goal of preventing unfair trade which is banned by the WTO is achieved.”

The minister said that the government would also encourage the improvement of the structure of domestic reassurance companies to boost growth in the sector. “The government will conduct restructuring and revitalization of domestic reassurance industry. We starting today will introduce a new state-owned reassurance company which is the result of merging two small companies that would become our national reassurance company,” he said. At the conference Sofyan was flanked by finance minister Bambang Brodjonegoro, minister of energy and mineral resources Sudirman Said and tourism minister Arief Yahya. Earlier President Joko Widodo held a limited cabinet meeting to discuss national economic policies which would mostly be effective in April. Source: ANTARA News

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

14 INDUSTRY NEWS

PALM OIL, A CATALYST FOR SARAWAK’S ECONOMIC GROWTH

The oil palm industry has become an important sector in Sarawak, thanks to the increasing global demand for palm oil and its products; which acts as a catalyst to increase the income of rural folk and contribute towards sustainable economic growth.

urrently, more than one million hectares of land in the state had been planted with oil palm, and the state government has planned to double the hectarage, said Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang.

said oil palm’s produce comprised of palm oil, palm kernel oil, palm kernel cake, oleochemicals, biodiesel and other finished products. About 20 years ago, the land allocated for oil palm plantations was about 55,000ha and there has been a big increase in recent years.

“In recent years, we have been putting greater emphasis on this sector, as we can see its potential in the global market, from food products to biofuel. The increasing demand for products of this crop also contributed to the state’s revenue and economic growth.

The state government has been encouraging the rural communities to plant oil palm through the 4ha oil palm per family policy about four years ago.

“Besides, it offers many opportunities to rural communities to generate more income,” said Jabu. Jabu, who is also the state Agriculture Modernisation Minister,

“Basically, it is the same mechanism we used for the rubber industry, where the state government and the Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority would help smallholders plant highyielding oil palm or rubber, with 4ha per family,” he said.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

INDUSTRY NEWS 15

“Sarawak has strict rules and regulations when it comes to issues related to the forest, wildlife and flora. If the policy affects any of these, it will not be approved or implemented.

By the time the trees are matured or ready to be tapped, each family can generate a stable income of between RM2,000 to RM3,000 per month. “It will take about three years for oil palm to start bearing fruits. In the meantime, we will help the rural communities plant other food crops that are suitable for their land,” he said. He added that the project was aimed at helping rural people to free them from poverty. Currently, they might be earning about RM800 to RM1,200 per month. Moreover, traditional farmers, might have an uncertain monthly income because of the lack of agricultural knowledge, techniques or tools. “We expect most of the low income families in the rural areas to participate in this scheme, and to achieve zero poverty by 2020. The most powerful tool to speed up the economic growth and development in the interior areas is through agriculture and education,” he added. Sarawak has a population of 2.4 million with about 47 per cent of them living in rural areas thus, bringing development to the interior would be a great challenge. However, Jabu said he was confident of achieving the target with the cooperation from the people and relevant agencies. “The

people

must

understand

and believe in our policy. Only then can we work together to achieve our goal,” he said. Meanwhile, 46 agricultural substations will be set up in rural areas throughout the state. Each station will have an officer who has a diploma in agriculture, and is assisted by other staff. The station will act as a onestop centre for agricultural related matters. It is equipped with latest knowledge and technologies, and will channeling assistance and allowances given by the state government. “We will also be placing officers at the station to take care of their welfare. They are also tasked to raise awareness on the importance of education among the farmers and their children. This is to ensure their children study harder, and aim higher with the parents willing to invest in education,” he said. The programme also targets the Penan community where they are also taught to plant oil palm. “Despite the population of the Penan being only about 60,000, we never neglect their needs. We have trained several Penan officers, and placed them in the community to create better communication and understanding,” he said. “We are committed to transforming agriculture into a modern, dynamic and competitive sector, while also narrowing down the gap between rural

and urban communities,” Jabu said. Speaking on wildlife and environmental sustainability, Jabu said agriculture would not create a negative impact on wildlife and the environment as long as it was carefully and strategically planned. “Sarawak has strict rules and regulations when it comes to issues related to the forest, wildlife and flora. If the policy affects any of these, it will not be approved or implemented. “The foreign non-governmental organisation (NGOs) can say what they want with their hidden agenda. But, facts and figures have shown that our wildlife and forest are well protected and conserved. “For example, there are 2,500 orang utan living in the wild in the state. They are not disturbed or affected by plantations or any agricultural activities, and that figure has remained the same in the past five or ten years ago,” he said. Meanwhile, nearly one million ha of forest has been gazetted as national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and protected areas. Jabu urged the NGOs not to claim that they are to protect the state’s forests or protest against the oil palm industry when they have never even seen one (oil palm plantation). Source: New Straits Times

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

16 INDUSTRY NEWS

SARAWAK’S PLANTATION SECTOR POISED FOR AVERAGE GROWTH

he state’s plantation sector is poised for growth as Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd (Affin Hwang Capital) believes Sarawak can increase its oil palm planted area to two million hectares (ha) through the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE). The firm in its overview report on the state yesterday reiterated the SCORE hopes of increasing the oil palm planted area to approximately two million ha by 2020 from approximately 1.3 million ha as at end-2014. It was however unclear what proportion of the land available for development is peat, which would be increasingly difficult to develop due to sustainability issues aor consumer requirements, it said. “Both Sarawak Plantations Bhd (Sarawak Plantations) and Sarawak Oil Palms Bhd (SOP)have plans to increase their areas planted with oil palm,” it divulged in the report yesterday, adding that increasing the scale of operations and yield to lower cost of production are critical to planters, who

are effectively price-takers. Sarawak Plantations, the firm said, has been seeing low yields over the past few years which was further impacted by encumbered estates. “Poor plantation management, inability to harvest on estates affected by disputes and extreme weather conditions contributed to the downtrend in fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yield since 2005,” it observed. “Plantation management issues are however being addressed to raise yields. Other strategies to drive growth include accelerated replanting and acquisition of 5,000ha of greenfield or brownfield lands per annum.” Its current share price implies an extremely low earnings value per ha of land bank, Affin Hwang Capital added. Looking at SOP, the firm estimated that its estates, milling, refining, kernel crushing and biodiesel currently has a good-sized land bank of 72,653ha of which 63,530ha are planted.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

“We estimate the average age of palms at just above 10 years. The group is an integrated plantation company, having expanded into refining in the third quarter of 2012 and biodiesel production in 3Q14. Production of phytonutrient is expected to commence in 3Q15,” it added. “A key growth driver is its rising FFB production as more areas reach maturity and prime age. Rising production will also contribute to lower cost of production of CPO. “Refining operations are currently at the breakeven level compared to losses in 2014 while improvement in blending facilities will help drive demand for its biodiesel.” All these led Affin Hwang Capital to maintain a neutral stance on the plantation sector based on its crude palm oil average selling price assumption of RM2,400 per metric tonne for 2015 and RM2,500 per metric tonne for 2016 to 2017. It retained its stock recommendations. Source: Borneo Post

INDUSTRY NEWS 17

INDONESIA MAY GIVE TAX BREAKS TO SUPPORT NEW BIODIESEL MANDATES

ndonesia may introduce tax breaks for crude palm oil producers to head-off a budgetary problem caused by overlapping biodiesel legislation announced in recent weeks, energy ministry officials said on Monday. Looking to protect its biofuels industry against lower crude prices and cut costly diesel imports, Indonesia’s government ramped up biodiesel subsidies last month after getting parliamentary approval for its 2015 budget. But its efforts are now threatened by a funding gap caused by the government’s decision late last week to increase the minimum bio content in diesel fuel to 15 percent from 10 percent, meaning additional monies would be needed to pay the subsidies for the higher volumes of biodiesel. Instead of turning to parliament to get additional funding, however, the government is now looking to offer tax breaks to palm producers on the additional 5 percent of biodiesel

supplies needed, Rida Mulyana, director general of renewable energy at the energy ministry told reporters. “The incentive to (palm) producers will be tax incentives,” he said, adding that the government may link the tax breaks to global CPO prices but that the details were still being discussed by different ministries. Southeast Asia’s biggest economy and top producer of palm oil introduced a 2013 regulation on biodiesel content to boost the use of the palm-based fuel and cut diesel imports. And while Indonesia missed last year’s biodiesel targets, due to logistical and infrastructure problems and a failure to enforce its mandate, the government is still looking at ways to improve the current account deficit and steady a weak rupiah , which hit its lowest since August 1998 last week. Indonesia’s total biodiesel consumption is now seen at 5.5 million kilolitres in 2015 due to the increase in the minimum bio content in diesel

fuel, analysts said, up from 1.8 million kilolitres in 2014. Questions remain on how these targets will be met, however, because of low crude prices making biodiesel less profitable, the lack of penalties for those not meeting the biodiesel mandates and a failure to enforce the new rules.

“We are positive on CPO prices following this development, but our price forecasts will remain unchanged until we see concrete steps taken by the government to forcefully implement the mandate,” CIMB analyst Ivy Ng said in a note on Monday. Malaysian palm oil futures (1FCPOc3 ) slid to their lowest in nearly six weeks on Monday at 2,172 ringgit ($586) a tonne and fell nearly 15 percent last year. Source: Reuters

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

18 INTERNATIONAL NEWS

FG POLICIES ATTRACT N800BN TO NIGERIA’S AGRIC SECTOR

Fovourable policies by the federal government have attracted private-sector investment to the tune of N800 billion to Nigeria’s budding agricultural sector since 2012, THISDAY findings have revealed. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina

he Investments, investigations revealed, were mostly in areas such as rice, sugar and palm oil segments.

However, private-sector credit to agriculture has dipped below 2 per cent of the total despite that the sector contributes about 20 per cent of gross domestic products (GDP). Analysts at FBN Capital have expressed the belief that federal government’s effort has helped to restore investors’ confidence in the sector. Highlighting funding developments in the agriculture sector, the analysts stated that agricultural sector has been the beneficiary of the FGN’s successful reforms. According to the analysts, “Funding vehicles driven by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) like the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF) and the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS) have addressed the limited risk appetite of the deposit money banks (DMBs). There have been benefits in terms of private-sector participation,

employment and food security, with an emphasis on the agric value chain. “In 2014 the FGN allocated N66.5 billion of its budget to the agriculture and rural development ministry. This falls far short of the 10 per cent share (of total spending) called for by stakeholder groups (along with singledigit interest rates) at an industry conference in Lagos in late December. “The value of loans granted under the ACGSF in H1 2014 was N5.9 billion ($29.6 million), an increase of 65 per cent on the value recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year. Projects in food crops and livestock accounted for 68 per cent and 10 per cent of the total respectively.” They added: “Meanwhile, N8.2bn was released under the CACS to eight banks for on-lending to privately sponsored projects in the same period. Production and processing accounted for 55 per cent and 36 per cent respectively. We should add that this is the tail-end of the scheme. However, the above mentioned schemes of the CBN and the efforts of the FGN have pushed the share up to a still modest estimated 4 per cent in 2014.”

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, recently announced that Nigeria’s development partners had committed about $2 billion into Nigeria’s agricultural transformation agenda. Adesina disclosed this in Abuja during the inaugural meeting of the Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NAG). He said global financial institutions have endorsed the establishment of staple crop processing zones in the country, which, according to him, would attract private sector investment in the industry. According to Adesina, the development partners rallied around Nigeria’s agric transformation efforts with commitments totalling $2 billion, which include the World Bank with $1 billion, the African Development Bank (ADB) with $500 million, USAID with $100 million, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) with $100 million, and funds from DfID, UNDP and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Source: THISDAY Live

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20 INTERNATIONAL NEWS

SIERRA LEONE NEWS: PARAMOUNT CHIEFS EMBRACE PALM OIL PROJECT The Paramount Chief of Jong Chief- PC Alie Badara Sheriff III and his

colleague Paramount Chief of Sogbini Chiefdom have wholeheartedly embraced the Palm Oil Production Project.

peaking at a ceremony to hand over contractors and sites for the construction of schools, multi-purpose centres, markets, health centres among goodies on Saturday 7th Match 2015, PC Alie Badara III stated that it’s a very happy day for him and the people of Jong Chiefdom including that of Sogbini to be witnessing the start of development through the Palm Oil Project. He acknowledged that he sacrificed himself for about 11 years to ensure that the landholding families benefit from the project. “I would not deviate from the agreement at

State House with the Government,” PC Sheirff III stated; adding that the package for the people of the two chiefdoms is now ready to be enjoyed. He admonished the people of both chiefdoms to forget the past and forge ahead for the development of the communities; adding that anyone who tries to incite the people against the project does not mean good for them. “I advice that you cooperate with the Government and channel your grievances through the right people,” he urged.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 21

He referenced Malaysia’s prosperity to the proper and sustainable management of Palm Oil Plantations- seedlings of which were obtained from Sierra Leone several years back. The Project Coordinator of the Palm Oil Production Project, Mr. Alusine Kallon stressed that he is the servant of the people while the Paramount Chiefs are the leaders of the project to succeed.

would enter all opposition areas by spreading development irrespective of politics … There is more in the pipeline for the people of Bonthe District,” the Minister of Agriculture said.

He disclosed that they would be constructing schools, multipurpose centres, health centres, markets among other things to demonstrate the project’s commitment to the betterment of the communities. Recalling that the project has been in existence since 1970, Mr. Kallon appealed to the host communities to let bygones be what they are and throw their weight behind the Project to achieve the set objectives.

He disclosed that the new Linking Farmers to Market (LFM) project in the district would see the construction of 4 Agriculture Business Centres (ABCs), rehabilitation of 70 kilometres of roads, and Inland Valley Swamps (IVS), provision of 10-tonne trucks to enhance the movement of produce to market.

The Presidential Adviser on Agriculture, Dr. Sheku Gibril Kamara informed that throughout their engagement with the local authorities of both Jong and Sogbini Chiefdoms, they have always put the interest of the people first; disclosing that the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has approved all funding for the actual implementation and commencement of the entire project. “The community would own part of the project through the public/ private partnership supported by the Government. The President has bigger plans for Bonthe District so let us allow the project to succeed,” Dr. Kamara stated. The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security (MAFFS) – Dr. Joseph Sam Sesay noted that the IDB had decided against the continuation of the project as a result of the improper management that was in place before 2007. “The IDB changed their mind in 2007 when the APC government took power to support the project again – even though we had maintained the project before this time,” Dr. Sam Sesay said; adding that the Government does not believe in taking development only to their strongholds but even to so-called opposition grounds. “The APC does not lie but delivers on its promises to the people. We

“We would do more, more and more through the effort and commitment of the President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma,” Dr. Sam Sesay noted while thanking the community for their patience and understanding. Addressing the Contractors and land owners for the commencement of the various construction works, the Chief of Staff at State House, Saidu Conton Sesay expressed immense thanks and appreciation of the President to the people of Bonthe District for their commitment in the fight against the Ebola disease. The President he stated has vowed that the Palm Oil Project should succeed “so do not allow a few people to stall this effort.” He referenced Malaysia’s prosperity to the proper and sustainable management of Palm Oil Plantationsseedlings of which were obtained from Sierra Leone several years back. The Chief of Staff stressed that the people need assurances as much as they should also take responsibility for the successful implementation of the project. “Do not create unnecessary problems but bring solutions to the issues for a permanent resolution of any disputes … The Chiefs should take full responsibility of the project while liaising with the people for stability and sustenance of this project,” the Chief of Staff emphasised. Source: Awoko

KHAMMAM TO BE OIL BOWL, SAYS MINISTER

inister for agriculture Pocharam Srinivas Reddy said that the government would sanction a second oil palm factory for Khammam district soon. The minister who came to Dammapet for the MLC election campaign on Wednesday, said that the government has a plan to make Khammam district the oil bowl of Telangana state. He said that the country is importing edible oil from different countries and spending crores of rupees in foreign exchange. “Such expenditure will be reduced if we produce more palm oil in our state,” he observed. He interacted with the palm oil farmers and enquired about their problems. The peasants told the minister that they have been facing increasing labour costs in reaping of palm fruits. Mr Pocharam said that the government would supply the fruit reaping machines to youth on subsidy. “Cutting the fruits will be cheap and easier and the youth will get employment with this,” he said. Minister for roads and buildings T, Nageswara Rao and DCCB chairman M. Vijay Babu accompanied Mr Pocharam. Source: Deccan Chronicle

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

22 RIFINERY NEWS

GENTING PLANTATIONS, MUSIM MAS TO BUILD 600,000 TONNES/YEAR PALM REFINERY Malaysian oil palm planter Genting Plantations Bhd said it has

entered into an agreement with Indonesiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Musim Mas Group to

build a 300 million ringgit ($82.17 million) palm oil refinery in the Borneo island of Sabah.

he refinery, which will have an a n n u a l capacity of 600,000 metric tonnes, or 1,800 metric tonnes per day, is due for completion in the second half of 2016, Genting Plantations said in a statement on Friday. Genting Plantations Chief Executive Lim Kok Thay said the palm oil refinery will be part of the larger Genting Integrated Bio-refinery Complex that the planter is setting up to boost its downstream business. Genting will hold 72 percent of Alfa Raya Development Sdn Bhd, the entity that will build the refinery, while Musim Mas Group will take a 28 percent interest. Genting Plantations, in which plantations-to-gaming conglomerate Genting Bhd owns a 54.6 percent stake, has about 66,000 hectares of land bank in Malaysia and some 180,000 hectares in Indonesia.

Palm oil prices were trading at 2,290 ringgit ($627) a tonne on Friday, having retreated from a rally that lifted the tropical oil to an eight-month top earlier this week.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

RIFINERY NEWS 23

CIMB RESEARCH POSITIVE ON GENTING PLANTATIONS INTEGRATION MOVE CIMB Equities Research is positive on the Genting Plantations’ initiatives to be more integrated as well as plans to raise the value-add of its products.

The refinery project, which entails an investment of about RM300m, will have a capacity of 600,000 tonnes per annum (1,800 tonnes per day).

The research house however do not expect this to significantly impact earnings as the refinery will only be ready in 2H16 and may take time to be profitable.

It is targeted for completion in the second half of 2016. The palm oil refinery will be part of the larger Genting Integrated Biorefinery Complex that it is setting up for the production of high value-added downstream products.

“As such, we are keeping to our earnings forecasts and Hold call,” it said on Monday. Genting Plantations and Musim Mas Group are collaborating to build a 600,000 tonne refinery in Sabah.

“The project does not come as a total surprise as the group had indicated to us its ambition to move downstream to raise the value-add of its palm oil produced,” it said.

The project (cost of building the refinery and working capital) will require an investment of RM300mil, and allow Genting Plantation to raise the value-add of its palm products and become a more integrated palm oil player.

Genting Plantations currently owns two biodiesel plants in Sabah and recently entered into a JV with Elevance Renewable Sciences, a specialty chemicals company, to build a 240,000 tonne biorefinery in Lahad Datu, Sabah.

“We estimate that its mills in Sabah will be able to supply up to 43% of the raw materials needed for the refinery which, in turn, can supply raw materials to the group’s biorefinery factory and biodiesel plant.

The proposed refinery will be able to process CPO from the group’s mills and estates, and the refined products will be partly sold to the group’s biorefinery when it comes on-stream in 3Q17 and biodiesel plant.

“However, this project would not be earnings-accretive in the near-term. We are keeping to our forecasts, Hold rating and SOP-based target price,” it said.

CIMB Research said Genting Plantations’ mills in Sabah produce around 260,000 tonnes of CPO per annum and will be able to supply around 43% of the feedstock for its refinery.

Genting Plantations and Musim Mas Group are teaming up to set up a palm oil refinery in the Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) in Lahad Datu, Sabah. Under the corporate exercise, Genting Plantations will take a 72% interest in the joint venture company Alfa Raya Development and Musim Mas, the remaining 28%.

Having Musim Mas, a major palm oil player in Indonesia, as a partner will enable Genting Plantations to tap into the group’s experience in the marketing and processing of refined palm oil products. Source: Reuters / The Star

We estimate that its mills in Sabah will be able to supply up to 43% of the raw materials needed for the refinery which, in turn, can supply raw materials to the group’s biorefinery factory and biodiesel plant. April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

24 RIFINERY NEWS

EUROPEAN REFINERY PLANS THREATEN BIOFUEL GLUT

The European refining industry is in danger of reducing excess conventional refining capacity at the price of creating a glut of biofuel capacity.

ear of industrial strife and concerns over corporate image are pushing Total and Italian energy group Eni towards biofuel conversions that allow them to reduce or eliminate the job losses that site closures would bring. But the halving of the oil price since June last year has all but ended discretionary blending of biofuels in the EU, with significant capacity sitting idle. As recently as January, Spain’s largest biodiesel producer Musim Mas shut in 300,000t/yr of production at the northern Atlantic port Ferrol, after failing to find buyers in north west Europe for its product. Europe’s largest biodiesel producer Avril — formerly Sofiproteol — cut capacity from 3mn t/ yr in 2013 to 2.7mn t/yr in 2014, citing capacity excess and saying it could cut further. Market participants speaking to Argus say employee protests and political pressure to avoid layoffs in the midst of Europe’s ongoing economic crisis, are part of the reason companies are choosing to convert. Public policy pressures also exist. Companies need to fulfil EU 2020 and ongoing national biofuel blending mandates. But far cheaper sources of biofuels are readily available in the already over-supplied European market. Despite excess biofuel capacity in Europe, trade unions have said Total is planning to announce its loss making 150,000 b/d La Mede refinery will be converted into a site producing biofuels. Chief executive Patrick Poyanne — formerly head of the company’s downstream division — is to announce a review of Total’s refineries before the end of June. If the unions are correct, La Mede will join the company’s Dunkirk facility — once a 156,000 b/d refinery — which is earmarked to become a 200,000t/yr second generation biofuels joint venture, BioTfuel. Total says the refinery conversion process at Dunkirk will finish in 2016. From 2017 onwards the company intends to begin producing biofuels from organic waste, but commercial scale production is unlikely before 2020. Despite the overcapacity in EU biofuels production, Poyanne says “we believe there is a market”. BioTfuel has seen the start up of the unit slip several times from

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

an original date of 2012, with costs rising from €112mn ($118mn) to €180mn. The refinery was earmarked for conversion under former chief executive Christophe de Margerie in 2009, pressured by strikes and court decisions to maintain some operations at the site, promising no layoffs. Eni confirmed on 6 March that it wants to covert its 105,000 b/d Gela refinery in Sicily into its second hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) biodiesel unit, outputting 750,000t/yr. Chief executive Claudio Descalzi is expected to give more details in a strategy update on 13 March. The Gela conversion will give the company 1.1mn t/ yr of production. But this is nearly twice its mandate requirement of around 600,000t/yr, with one market actor calling the decision “political”. The firm had faced strikes, protests and interventions by government ministers after it announced planned restructuring of its downstream segment following financial losses. Speaking at the company’s full year results presentation, chief financial officer Massimo Mondazzi said the cost to Eni of the Gela conversion would be “around €200mn to €220mn” with construction taking two years after full approval is received. The firm had already converted its Venice refinery – which produced 80,000 b/d – into a 350,000t/yr facility to output HVO in June 2014, after it faced employee actions when it mulled closing the site. HVO can be blended into diesel in the same way as ester-based biodiesel, but has properties closer to diesel and a much higher freezing point, making it more suitable for winter sales in Europe. But site closure, replacement with storage operations, or conversion of conventional refineries into biofuel plants are not the only models in Europe. Spain’s integrated oil company Repsol and refiner Cepsa are both combining existing on-site refining operations with HVO production. Repsol produces around 60,000t/yr at both its Bilbao and Cartagena refineries, processing palm oil as feedstock. Cepsa also uses palm oil to produce HVO at its 180,000 b/d La Rabida refinery in the southern port of Huelva with its latest figures showing production of around 278,000t/yr. Source: Argus

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April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

26 COVER STORY

INTERVIEW WITH TAN SRI DATUK DR. YUSOF BASIRON CEO OF MALAYSIAN PALM OIL COUNCIL

Palm biomass has massive potential. The National Biomass Strategy 2020: New Wealth Creation for Malaysia’s Palm Oil Industry report indicates that Malaysian palm oil industry generated an estimated 80mil dry tonnes of palm biomass in 2010 and this would increase to 110mil dry tonnes by 2020.

Share with us a bit about yourself as the CEO of MPOC?

Briefly describe the history and profile of MPOC?

I joined MPOC in Jan 2006 as Chief Executive Officer. Prior to that, I was the Director General of Malaysian Palm Oil Board for 14 years where I was actively involved in palm oil research.

MPOC is a non-profit organization under the Ministry of Plantation Industries & Commodities Malaysia. It

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

was formerly known as Malaysian Palm Oil Promotion Council (MPOPC) and was incorporated on January 25th 1990 to assume the responsibilities and activities previously undertaken by the Palm Oil Promotion Fund (POPF) Committee. One of the main reasons leading to the establishment of this organization was to address the ‘anti-tropical oils’ campaign in the USA during 1980s. By having MPOPC, we were able to formulate activities in a more systematic way to highlight the health attributes of palm oil to our consumers around the globe. The MPOC name was changed to Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) on April 13th 2006 to reflect our wider scope of responsibilities such as branding of Malaysian palm oil.

COVER STORY 27

By 2020, solid biomass will increase to 85-110 million tonnes, POME to 70-110 million tonnes

Source: National Biomass Strategy 2010: New Wealth creation for Malaysia’s Palm Oil Industry

What is the vision and mission of MPOC?

MPOC’s vision is to make Malaysian palm oil the leading vegetable oil in the global oils & fats markets. Our mission is therefore to expand the markets of Malaysian palm oil and its products by undertaking rigorous promotional activities to highlight the technoeconomic attributes and sustainability of Malaysian palm oil as well as increase awareness about our products for better acceptance worldwide.

What has MPOC contributed in order to achieve the vision and mission as mentioned above? What role does it play in the Malaysia palm oil industry? We have promoted the intake and use of Malaysian palm oil and its products throughout the world, either through a series of trade shows such as the Palm Oil Trade Fair & Seminar (POTS) which we carry out in major markets. Buyer- seller missions are organised during this event to ensure we find new markets for palm oil. In conjunction with POTS, we now also carry out consumer programmes that help to better inform consumers on the health and nutrition benefits of palm oil as they are the end users. We actively use new platforms such as the internet and social media by organising internet- based seminars for the trade.

In addition, we have programmes in place to help Malaysian companies to penetrate markets by launching new products. We are also in direct contact with the Ministry to provide our views on policy matters and also tackle issues to ensure fair trade.

Any notable challenges that MPOC has faced so far in order to develop the palm oil industry in Malaysia? I would say branding of Malaysian palm oil remains our main challenge. It is a new area that needs to be explored to take the industry to a new level to give us a competitive edge in the global oils & fats market. Moving forward, sustainability issues will be advanced through the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification scheme. This will allow big and small players to be certified sustainable. For example, today we are the first and only vegetable oil in the world to have been certified sustainable under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) scheme. The industry is aware of the importance of maintaining biodiversity and carrying out conservation efforts and this has resulted in the establishment of the Malaysian Palm Oil Wildlife Conservation Fund (MPOWCF) which is managed by MPOC. RM20 million has been allocated to support wildlife conservation and research efforts.

Can you explain the relevance of the CPO export tax?

The CPO export tax is only applicable when the current price of CPO surpasses the minimum threshold price of RM2,250 per tonne (for CPO exports to be taxed). Then a certain percentage between 4.5% 8.5% will be imposed on the prices as export tax, which will be collected as government revenue. Logically, the higher the market price of CPO the higher the tax percentage. The CPO export tax is a mechanism to increase the competitiveness of our refining industry so that they would have ample supply of CPO for their downstream products and healthy margins. It could also help keep our national CPO stock at a desirable level (between 1.3mil – 1.5mil tonnes) especially when the prices are low, which means more CPO can be exported without tax.

As we know palm oil is one of the major contributors to the biomass industry. Over the years, the Malaysian government has set policies to promote renewable energy and sustainable process. However, there are some notable challenges that have been faced by the industry players. Based on the issues below, what are your suggestions to overcome the challenges? Difficulty in getting feedstock from major producers as the ownership of biomass produced from plantations is in private hands, government cannot control whether they want to dispose the biomass or not. In fact, this certainly affects development of the biomass power plant. In order to get enough financial support, they will have to propose to banker and need to present field supply agreement on long term basis, which is impossible to do so. Thus, some industry players are facing financial problems.

The National Innovation Agency Malaysia (AIM) in its National Biomass Strategy 2010: New Wealth Creation for Malaysia’s Palm Oil Industry report has proposed a few measures where the country can utilize its palm biomass for additional RM30bil GNI by 2020. This includes the creation of cooperatives among the plantation owners which

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

28 COVER STORY would make it easier for downstream companies to source their biomass at a reasonable price. Meanwhile, difficulty in obtaining feedstock from some major producers might be due to the price offered by entrepreneurs to suppliers. Some entrepreneurs wish to get raw material at a low price to gain profit. However, price should be established at fair and equitable level, where buyers are advised to offer a more favourable purchasing price in order to get a consistent supply. Besides, market forces could be an additional factor as well, where current market forces are not yet able to stimulate biomass for commercialisation. Compared to foreign conversion technology, some of the local conversion technology, which is available in local universities, still remains at lab skill level, whereas foreigners manage to commercialize their technology up to industrial skill production. There is a gap between lab skill technology and industrial skill production. Meanwhile, not many entrepreneurs are fully confident to invest in the local technology to commercialize it.

The MPOB organizes Transfer of Technology seminars on a yearly basis where various technologies including those associated with palm biomass utilization developed by their scientists are presented for commercial use. There are a number of MPOB technologies that have been successfully converted to industrial scale such as palm wood technology and palm pellets. Basically, it is up to companies to work with MPOB to commercialize these technologies. Alternatively, companies can also work with local universities to invest in new technologies or obtain licence to commercialize their technologies. They may also consider bringing in foreign technologies to utilize our palm biomass. Investment is the ability to take risk; it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter if it is local or foreign technology. The important factor is how a project can make a profit.

As the CEO of MPOC, do you have any advice to the Malaysia palm oil industry players?

Palm biomass has massive potential. The National Biomass Strategy 2020: New Wealth Creation for Malaysiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Palm Oil Industry report indicates that Malaysian palm oil industry generated an estimated 80mil dry tonnes of palm biomass in 2010 and this would increase to 110mil dry tonnes by 2020. The report also shows that by utilizing additional 20mil tonnes of palm biomass by 2020 for higher-value downstream products, the country would benefit from RM30bil additional GNI and creation of about 66,000 new employment opportunities. Therefore, I would advise the industry players to concentrate on utilising palm biomass to diversify their products. Currently, there may be a lack of awareness, thus more marketing efforts are needed. In addition, we need to create more efficiency by reducing operating cost and meeting customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; requirements or expectations.

There is research indicating that soy bean is considered as a major threat to palm oil. Does it affect the palm oil industry in Malaysia? Palm oil is a major vegetable oil in the oils and fats supply chain. Therefore it remains a strong competitor to all oils as it can easily replace them in many applications. We all need to compete to gain market share but that should not be at the expense of other oils. We promote palm oil on the basis of its strength such as its trans- free application that is widely accepted by the industry. With the world requiring double the amount of commodities including oils and fats by 2050, Malaysia will continue to take centre stage in the international supply chain. Other sources of edible oils will not be able to expand as easily as they are land intensive. The responsibility will fall on palm oil, which is land efficient. Many countries use extensive portions of land in order to maintain its growth rate while Malaysia can do the same thing by only using 24 percent of its land for agriculture.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

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30 PROCUREMENT CORNER

PROCUREMENT CORNER AUMKAR OIL MILL Add: W.D.T No. 154, 91009 Tawau, Sabah Tel: +6089-853 805 / +608-9853 807 / +608-9853 808 Fax: 089-853 806

FVOP SDN BHD - KUANTAN OIL PRODUCTS Add: Felda Veg. Oil Products Sdn Bhd, Tg. Gelang Pelabuhan Kuantan, 26080 Kuantan, Pahang Tel: +609-580 1268 Fax: +609-583 3717

BINTULU EDIBLE OILS SDN BHD Add: PO Box 256, 97007 Bintulu , Sarawak Tel: +6086-251 150 Fax: +6086-251 120

GREENTECH CHEMICALS SDN BHD (Formerly Himpunan Sari) Add: 43-5, The Boulavard, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur Tel: +603-715 8822 Fax: +603-2715 8855

BHL RIMBUNAN TEKNOLOGI SDN BHD Add: Suite 3.01B, 2nd Floor, Wisma Central, Box #461, Jalan Ampang, 50400 Kuala Lumpur Tel: +603-2181 3073 Fax: +603-2181 3073

CENTRAL PALM OIL MILL SDN BHD Add: 78 Km Jalan Raya Ipoh Butterworth, PO Box 36, 34007 Taiping, Perak Tel: +605-891 3535 Fax: +605-891 5534

DUMPAS PALM OIL MILL Add: PO Box 22477, Luyang, 88784 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Tel: +6088-435 661 Fax: +6088-388 766

EMERY OLEOCHEMICALS (M) SDN BHD Add: Lot 4, Jalan Perak, 42500 Telok Panglima Garang, Kuala Langat, Selangor Tel: +603-3326 8686 Fax: +603-3122 0687

FELCRA PROCESSING & ENGINEERING SDN BHD Add: Peti Surat 120, Batu 12, Jalan Bidor, 36008 Teluk Intan, Perak. Tel: +605-656 1212 Fax: +605-656 1442

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

HAP SENG PLANTATIONS (RIVER ESTATES) Add: 20th Floor, Menara Hap Seng, Letter Box 98, Jalan P.Ramlee, 50250 Kuala Lumpur Tel: +603-2172 5228 Fax: +603-2072 0708

HASILWAN (M) SDN BHD Add: 2nd floor, No 3, Jalan SS23/11, Taman SEA, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan Tel: +603-7803 6188 Fax: +603-7800 0606

INTEGRATED FORMATION SDN BHD Add: Lot 7880, Kamunting Industrial Estate, 34600 Taiping, Perak Tel: +605-895 8804 Fax: +605-895 8800

IOI LIPID ENZYMTEC SDN BHD Add: Plo 8 & 9, Jalan Timah, Pasir Gudang Ind Estate, 81700 Pasir Gudang, Johor Tel: +607-381 8888 Ext 374 Fax: +607-251 1798

KUNAK BULKING ISTALLATION Add: Peti Surat 135, 91007 Tawau, Sabah Tel: +6089-852 286

PROCUREMENT CORNER 31

LEE OIL MILLS SDN BHD Add: PO Box 34, 41700 Klang, Selangor. Tel: +603-3342 6613 Fax: +603-3342 1789

LIPIDS TERMINAL SDN BHD Add: Jalan Kenanga 1, Kawasan Liquid Bulk, Terminal West Port, Sebahagian Lot 55710, 42009 Pulau Indah, Selangor Tel: +603-3101 0011 / +603-3101 0022 Fax: +603-3101 1800

MY FLEXITANK INDUSTRIES SDN BHD Add: Suite 2.02,Level 2, Menara KWSP, 38 Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, 10050 Georgetown Penang Tel: +604-27 9088 Fax: +604-227 0188 PALMCO OIL MILL SDN BHD Add: 2411 Lorong Perusahaan Satu, Prai Industrial Complex, 13600 Prai, Pulau Pinang Tel: +604 323 3486/+604 323 7486 Fax: +604 332 3494

PALM OLEO (KLANG) SDN BHD Add: PO Box 83, 41700 Klang, Selangor Tel: +603-3341 2115 Fax: +603-3342 7877

PLATINUM GREEN CHEMICALS SDN BHD (Formerly Platinum Biofuels) Add: Lot 15-19 & PT 1409, Senawang Industrial Estate, Batu 4, Jalan Tampin, 70450 Seremban, Negeri Sembilan Tel: +606-667 8080 / +603-2282 3080 Fax: +606-677 0309 /+603-2283 6080

PREMIUM VEGETABLE OIL SDN BHD Add: Plo 66, Jalan Timah Dua, Pasir Gudang Ind. Estate, 81700 Pasir Gudang, Johor Tel: +607-259 6667 Fax: +607-251 4495

PZ BIO ENERGY SDN BHD Add: No.7, Jalan Tiram 4, Tiram Industrial Park, 81800 Sungai Tiram, Ulu Tiram, Johor Tel: +607-861 5248 Fax: +607-861 5246

RENEWABLE ENERGY GROUP Add: c/o Jutasama Sdn Bhd, Lot 1930, Batu 7, Jalan Bukit Kemuning, Seksyen 32, 40460 Shah Alam, Selangor Tel: +603-5123 0088 Fax: +603-5123 0077

SANG KEE EDIBLE OILS SDN BHD Add: Lot 3, Leboh Hishamuddin 2, Kaw. 20, Kaw. Per. Selat Klang (U), 42000 Port Klang, Selangor Tel: +603-3176 5137 Fax: +603-3176 1926

SENARI BIOFUELS SDN BHD (Formerly Global Bonanza) Add: Lot 1220, Block 5, Muara Tebas LD, Assar Senari Industrial Complex, 93050 Kuching, Sarawak Tel: +6082-381 404 / +6082-381 405 Fax: +6082-381 398

SOUTHERN ACIDS INDUSTRIES SDN BHD Add: Level 29, Centro Tower, No.8, Jalan Batu Tiga Lama, 41300 Klang, Selangor Darul Ehsan Tel: +603-3250 8723/4/5 Fax: +603-250 7406

SUPERVITAMINS SDN BHD Add: PO Box No.1, 81757 Masai, Johor Tel: +607-256 3319 Fax: +607-251 2518

SYKT. PERADUAN KILANG MINYAK SDN BHD Add: Lot 31980, 13 1/2 Miles, 42200 Kapar, Klang, Selangor. Tel: +603-3250 8188 Fax: +603-3250 8839

THE INCORPORATED SOCIETY OF PLANTERS Add: c/o Platinum NanoChem S/B, Suite 9-2, Level 9, WORK@clearwater Changkat Semantan, Off Jalan Semantan, Damansara Heights, 50490 Kuala Lumpur Tel: +603-2092 3080 Fax: +603-2092 5080

WESCHEM TECHNOLOGIES SDN BHD Add: Lot 1, Kaw. Perindustrian Ringan, Ulu Yam Lama, 44300 Batang Kali, Selangor Tel: +603-6075 2355 Fax: +603-6075 2622

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

32 IN THE HOT SEAT

INTERVIEW WITH

DATUK DARREL WEBBER SECRETARY GENERAL OF RSPO

Share with us a bit about yourself as the secretary general of rspo.

I am a Kadazan, originally from Sabah. I graduated from University of Aberdeen, Scotland with a Degree in Civil Engineering. Prior to being the Secretary General of RSPO, I had a variety of working experiences, namely with Shell, Pepsi, World Wide Fund (WWF) International and a plantation company namely New Britain Palm Oil Limited. Basically I had been involved in RSPO for a period of time while working with WWF International. In 2005, I represented WWF International in association with RSPO to assist in RSPO’s standard development. I then became one of the RSPO’s executive board members and later on was assigned as the Secretary General in Year 2011.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

Briefly describe on history and profile of RSPO?

RSPO is a non-profit organization which unites stakeholders from the 7 sectors of palm oil industry: oil palm producers, processors or traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks/ investors, and environmental and social non-governmental organisations (NGOs). RSPO functions on developing and implementing global standards for sustainable palm oil, with the hope to minimize negative impact of palm oil cultivation on the environment and communities in palm oil-producing regions. Companies have to comply with RSPO standard in order to produce Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO).

IN THE HOT SEAT 33 People started discussing about environmental issues such Late 1990’s: as haze and deforestation caused by inappropriate ways of palm oil production. 2004 - 2005

RSPO was founded in order to overcome the environmental issues. It was registered in Switzerland. At the end of 2005, a standard was designed and begin to apply on the plantation field.

2008

RSPO developed a set of environmental and social criteria and the first certified sustainable palm oil came into the Netherlands market.

2015

Today, 20% of global palm oil has been certified as sustainable palm oil, from countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, Solomon Islands and so on.

“RSPO will transform markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm.” This is the vision of RSPO. Can you please explain:

(i) What is sustainable palm oil and what is the advantage of encouraging the norm? Sustainable palm oil refers to palm oil which is

Globally Produced RSPC-Certified Sustainable Palm Oil • being produced legally, without harming the local community. • being produced under free of conflict from local people (such as protest). • environmentally friendly, avoid conservation area such as threaten animals habitat • economically viable

Source: “RSPO Who We Are Infographic”

Who are the members of RSPO? Is there any qualification to become a member of RSPO?

Generally our members consist of the 7 stakeholder groups, which have been mentioned in previous question. Currently we have 2196 members from 50 countries, ranging from the world largest companies to smallholders and even individuals. Meanwhile, to comply with RSPO standard and code of conduct is the very first qualification to become a RSPO member. There is an annual members fee, which applies to the 3 kinds of memberships accordingly: Ordinary For organizations directly involved within the Membership palm oil supply chain, or is an associated NGO

2000 £

For organisations that have business activities Supply along the palm oil supply chain but limited to Chain purchasing, using, or trading not more than 500 Associate metric tonnes of palm oil and palm oil products Membership annually.

100 £

For organisations or individuals that are not Affiliate directly involved in the palm oil supply chain Membership in any of the various categories in Ordinary Membership, eg. Universities.

250£

Encouraging the norm of sustainable palm oil will benefit the local community, as our members have to comply with the standards and rules for not executing harmful actions or activities which will affect the community. Reducing the impact caused by environmental issues will be the utmost benefits. Furthermore, Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development has announced on developing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to help drive the implementation of sustainable development. Most of the countries will sign up for the goal and it is believed that by the end of 2015, sustainability will become a market trend, where industry players shall move on to follow the market steps in order to avoid being eliminated from the market.

If at all there is a breach of contract, one’s membership will be terminated, which would definitely affect the business performance, at the same time the member will face difficulties on securing financial support from banks.

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

34 IN THE HOT SEAT

(ii) What do you think RSPO have contributed in order to achieve the vision? RSPO has risen up the subject of sustainable development in palm oil industry, by creating awareness among the industry players. Besides, we also found solutions to overcome problems such as environmental issues causing by inappropriate palm oil producing, which indirectly strengthen the palm oil market. Moreover, RSPO also provides market mechanism to promote good behaviour among industry players, through complying with RSPO standards.

As we understand Certified Sustainable Palm Oil is certified by RSPO according to specific criteria. Briefly explain what are the criteria? There are 8 principles to be followed in order to be RSPO certified:

Source: “RSPO Who We Are Infographic”

What do you see of sustainable palm oil development in Malaysia?

It is good! A lot of companies in Malaysia are joining RSPO. We have members range from giant companies (such as Sime Darby, IOI, KLK and so on) to smallholders. It is definitely a good phenomenon which shows that our industry is taking the issue seriously. By the way, Malaysia as the net palm oil exporter, will always have to keep up to the latest market trend such as location of the palm oil production, environmental and social issues which are related with the production and so on. Having good understanding on the market needs is necessary. It is important to produce the best product which market needs, but not the best product for the sake of being the best product.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

Until today, there is about 12.14 million tonnes of palm oil has been certified by RSPO globally, which consists about 18-20% of global palm oil. What do you see of this result? Is there any plan from RSPO for further achievement? As according to our vision which is to transform markets to make sustainable palm oil the norm, we are aiming “to get sustainable palm oil as easy as it is to get unsustainable palm oil”, in other words, easy to reach for sustainable palm oil in the market. This would happen if we achieve 51% of certified sustainable palm oil in the market, which is our expectation. While comparing to

IN THE HOT SEAT 35 the current achievement which is 20%, there is still some distances to go. We are planning to work out in other market such as China, India, Pakistan, Japan, South Europe, Eastern Europe, US and so on. As for the remaining 49%, we believe it will gradually convert into sustainable palm oil as well when the target of 51% is achieved. I believe it is not easy to change the mind set of industry players. They would have to overcome the barriers and some mental block issues. It takes time for people to go through the change phases, which is from Denial, Resistance, Exploration to Commitment.

Source: “RSPO Who We Are Infographic”

Any notable challenges that RSPO has faced so far in order to develop sustainable palm oil in Malaysia?

There are 3 main challenges that we are facing currently: • We aim to certify every small holder in Malaysia, while currently we have only certified about 145,000 small holdings, thus reaching out to other small holders in Malaysia is a challenge for us. • Some industry players thought being certified for sustainable palm oil is just a “fashion”, while it is definitely not. It is a permanent and commercial necessity, where banks will emphasize on it as well. • We want to change people’s mind set of sustainable palm oil is a “western agenda”. Everyone should understand the importance of it as it actually brings beneficial effect to the local community, by reducing the problems such as environmental issues.

Malaysia government is emphasizing on sustainable development, which including palm oil industry as well. As the secretary general of RSPO, do you have any advice for palm oil industry player based on this matter?

Source: “RSPO Who We Are Infographic”

Any expansion or development plan for RSPO in the next coming 5 years?

RSPO own offices in United Kingdom, Netherlands, Jakarta and Malaysia of course, and we are planning to develop in China, India and United States market as well. Currently we are in process of staff hiring and setting up new offices. Moreover, as I mentioned, we also plan to skill up certification of small holders. We currently certified about 145,000 small holdings, which there are still a lot more to be reaching out in order to increase the number of certified small holders.

United Nation is going to launch Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in this year, where one of the goals is emphasizing on the sustainable production and consumption. Therefore I advise the industry players to take the issue seriously that sustainability is a permanent agenda in global scene. It is better to get yourself involved and be part of the conversation; otherwise you might have to suffer from the consequences. It is necessary to always follow the market trend, where people shall be more outward looking at the sustainability issue in order to keep their relevance in the market. For your information, some overseas countries such as China practise environmental laws strictly whereby it may lead to death penalty for serious misconduct.

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

NESTE OIL CLAIMS WORLD LEADERSHIP IN BIOFUELS FROM WASTE, RESIDUE

ver the past few years, Neste Oil has become the world’s largest producer of renewable fuels from waste and residues. In 2014, Neste Oil produced nearly 1.3 million tons (more than 420 million gallons) of renewable fuel from waste and residues. In practical terms, this is enough to power for two years all the 650,000 diesel-powered passenger cars in Finland with renewable NEXBTL diesel manufactured from waste and residues. “We can be really proud that we have succeeded in increasing our use of waste and residue-based feedstocks in the production of renewable NEXBTL fuels to such a significant extent,” says Kaisa Hietala, executive vice president of Neste Oil’s renewable products business area. “Thanks to this, Neste Oil has in just a few years become the world’s largest circular economy enterprise in the biofuels sector. The production of fuels from waste-based feedstock is resource-efficient, and our aim is to have the capability to use 100 percent

waste and residues by 2017. We are constantly searching for new wastebased raw materials of increasingly poorer quality, and use the majority of our €40 million R&D expenditure for raw material research.” Examples of Neste Oil’s waste and residue-based raw materials include animal and fish fats, used cooking oil and various residues generated during vegetable oil refining, such as palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) and technical corn oil. These raw materials accounted for 62 percent of Neste Oil’s renewable inputs in 2014 (52 percent in 2013, 35 percent in 2012). Additionally, Neste Oil manufactures renewable products from vegetable oils, mainly from crude palm oil. Its proportion of the total feedstock usage has decreased markedly over the past few years and currently stands at 38 percent (47 percent in 2013, 65 percent in 2012). In all, Neste Oil is already able to produce renewable diesel from more than 10 different raw materials, and the total amount of renewal diesel

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

produced by Neste Oil in 2014 would suffice to power 2.8 million passenger cars for one year. All of the company’s renewable raw materials are sustainably produced and comply with both the requirements set out by legislation and the company’s own stringent sustainability criteria. With regard to crude palm oil, Neste Oil only uses certified feedstock. Neste Oil produces renewable products based on its proprietary NEXBTL technology in its refineries located in Finland, the Netherlands and Singapore. With its annual capacity of 2 million tons, the company is the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel. The goal is to increase annual capacity to 2.6 million tons without making any major additional investments. Additionally, the NEXBTL product range will expand to cover entirely new applications outside traffic fuels, such as the chemical industry. Source: Borneo Post

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38 GREEN SOLUTION

SCIENTISTS SAY THAT “OIL PALM PLANTATIONS HOVER WATER QUALITY”

he clearing of tropical forests to plant oil palm trees releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas fueling climate change. Converting diverse forest ecosystems to these single-crop “monocultures” degrades or destroys wildlife habitat. Oil palm plantations also have been associated with dangerous and abusive conditions for laborers. Significantly eroded water quality now joins the list of risks associated with oil palm cultivation, according to new research co-authored by researchers from Stanford University and the University of Minnesota, who warn of threats to freshwater streams that millions ofpeople depend on for drinking water, food and livelihoods. The new study in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences contains surprising findings about the intensity and persistence of these impacts, even in areas fully forested with

mature oil palm trees. Land clearing, plantation management (including fertilizer and pesticide application) and processing of oil palm fruits to make crude palm oil can all send sediment, nutrients and other harmful substances into streams that run through plantations. Vegetation removal along stream banks destroys plant life that stream organisms depend on for sustenance and shade. “Although we previously documented carbon emissions from land use conversion to oil palm, we were stunned by how these oil palm plantations profoundly alter freshwater ecosystems for decades,” said study co-author and team leader Lisa M. Curran, a professor of ecological anthropology at Stanford and a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

GREEN SOLUTION 39

Palm Oil Epicenter Indonesia produces almost half of the world’s palm oil. Home to the world’s third-largest tropical forest, the country is also one of the principal emitters of greenhouse gases, due to the rapid conversion of carbon-rich forests and peatlands to other uses. From 2000 to 2013, Indonesia’s land used for oil palm cultivation more than tripled. About 35 percent of Indonesian Borneo’s unprotected lowlands may be cleared for oil palm in coming years, according to previous research by Curran and the study’s lead author, Kimberly Carlson, a former Stanford graduate student who is now a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment. Curran, Carlson and their colleagues focused on small streams flowing through oil palm plantations, smallholder agriculture and forests in and around Gunung Palung National Park, a federally protected area that Curran was instrumental in establishing in 1990. They found that water temperatures in streams draining recently cleared plantations were almost 4 degrees Celsius (more than 7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than forest streams. Sediment concentrations were up to 550 times greater. They also recorded a spike in stream metabolism — the rate at which a stream consumes oxygen and an important measure of a stream’s health — during a drought.

Possible Solutions The impact of these land use changes on fisheries, coastal zones and coral reefs — potentially many miles downstream — remains unclear because this study is one of the first to examine the oil palm’s effects on freshwater ecosystems. “Local communities are deeply concerned about their freshwater sources. Yet the long-term impact of oil palm plantations on freshwater streams has been completely overlooked until now,” Curran said. “We hope this work will highlight these issues and bring a voice to rural communities’ concerns that directly affect their livelihoods.” Potential management solutions, according to Carlson and Curran, include maintaining natural vegetative cover next to streams and designing oil palm plantations so that dense road networks do not intersect directly with waterways. These kinds of improved practices are being pioneered by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and other organizations that certify palm oil production as sustainable. Yet, Carlson said, “Our findings suggest that converting logged forests and diverse smallholder agricultural lands to oil palm plantations may be almost as harmful to stream ecosystems as clearing intact forests.” Very few protections for such non-intact forest ecosystems exist. According to Curran, extensive land conversion to oil palm plantations could lead to a “perfect storm” combining the crop’s environmental effects with those from a massive El Niño-associated drought. (One is predicted this fall.) “This could cause collapse of freshwater ecosystems and significant social and economic hardships in a region,” Curran said. Source: Zine Report

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

40 GREEN SOLUTION

REGULATING ACCESS TO PALM OIL-BASED BIOGAS FACILITATES RURAL ELECTRIFICATION

he administration of Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has ambitious targets for both the electrification ratio and the renewable energy share in the energy mix. According to the mid-term development plan (RPJMN) 2014-2019 — the official document outlining the president’s development targets — by the end of his tenure the electrification ratio should reach 96.6 to 100 percent while the share of renewable energy of the national energy mix should be 10 to 16 percent. The achievement of these two targets is interdependent when it comes to rural electrification. Most of the households without electricity — between eight and 11 million households — are located in remote rural areas, where renewables are the most efficient resources for small-scale, decentralized power generation. Connecting remote rural areas to the main power grid will cause power losses in between, while establishing a low-cost coal power plant dedicated to rural villages is not economically viable due to the low number of inhabitants. The common solution for these areas is an isolated grid powered by diesel generators that require a low upfront investment but a very high cost through the course of its operation. A careful calculation made by the Indonesia Climate Change Center shows that with a diesel price of Rp 8,629 (60 US cents) per liter in 2012 the cost to generate a kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity was more than Rp 3,000.

Biogas from palm oil mill effluent (POME) is among the least cost renewable and is available in some remote rural areas in palm oil producing regions. The high organic content effluent — produced alongside with the crude palm oil production, which is mainly located in remote rural areas — results in a high volume of biogas. A palm oil mill processing fresh fruit from 10,000 ha to 15,000 ha of mature oil palm estates can produce biogas that is sufficient to fuel biogas engines with an installed capacity of more than 1 megawatt (MW), enough to electrify 2,000 households with 24 hours of electricity. In the case of East Kalimantan, for example, each of 12 potential — out of the total 62 — mills could generate 1 MW or more, all of which are close to villages with enough inhabitants to absorb the additional produced power. Those villages currently have no electricity or have less than 15 hours of supply per day from diesel generators. The marginal cost to generate a kWh of power from POME biogas is less than half of that from diesel. This opportunity has gained much attention from the governor of East Kalimantan, the regents of East Kutai and Berau and the general manager of state-electricity company PLN Regional Office for East and North Kalimantan. They establish the POME-biogas for Rural Electrification Partnership last May with the commitment to provide joint facilities for POME-biogas power plant developers.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

Apart from support for the transaction process to get a power purchase agreement with PLN, the partnership will provide power grid infrastructure required in the developing areas. Moreover, the partnership could provide technical assistance for prefeasibility studies and could offer trainings for the mill and biogas power plant operators to measure and

GREEN SOLUTION 41 achieve 67 percent of IRR. Interestingly, some renewable energy development companies have expressed interests to invest in the potential sites. Their interests may be due to their specialty and familiarity in the renewable energy business, which allows them to operate in a more efficient way and, therefore, create higher returns.

report their emission reduction to the government.

a series of promotion activities have been conducted by the partnership parties.

The partnership facilities complement the feed-in-tariff (FIT) policy, the rate of which was increased just last year in October. Both the higher FIT rate (at national level) and the partnership facilities (in the East Kalimantan case) are there to incentivize POME-biogas developers to invest in this initiative.

But the result is not very promising. Out of the 12 potential mills, only four of them (subsidiaries of two groups) have confirmed their interest, of which two of them have a clear development schedule.

Despite the higher FIT and partnership facilities in East Kalimantan, the initiative has not strongly attracted the interest of palm oil companies. Since the establishment of the partnership last year

The following two reasons explain the low attractiveness. First, most palm oil companies — the “gate keepers” of POME-biogas resources — are not familiar with the energy business. Although they produce energy from the solid waste that results from their operations, generating power from biogas is a new idea for most of them. But, most importantly, almost all palm oil companies have no experience in starting a business with PLN for selling power through the FIT policy. Second, while the FIT rate has been increased and can make the initiative become financially viable, it is still less attractive than the core business of the palm oil companies. An assessment by Winrock International shows that with the current FIT rate for Kalimantan the project internal rate of return (IRR) is “only” between 13 to 14 percent. In addition, the long-term fixed-rate contract in rupiah creates some risks related to the fluctuation of inflation and exchange rate during the 20-year contract period. With today’s low liquidity in the financial institutions in Indonesia, the level of IRR is not very attractive. Alternative investment in their core businesses is more promising. Reports show palm oil estates in Indonesia get 18 percent of IRR after land charges, while estates in Selangor, Malaysia, can

The involvement of renewable energy development companies can be implemented through various kinds of partnership models with the gate keepers of the biogas. For example, joint-venture and build-operatetransfer (BOT). The partnership will allow the palm oil firms to save limited investment funds and transfer most of the investment risks to the business partner who can better handle them. However, these efficient renewable developers cannot enter the market without the palm oil companies opening the gate for them to get access to the biogas. Without utilization, the biogas — 60 percent of which is methane — is just emitted into the atmosphere contributing to global warming. To achieve resource-efficiency the government should ensure the high utilization of the POME-biogas to support rural electrification in palm oil regions. There is the soft approach and the hard one. The soft approach is by facilitating voluntary partnerships through creating connections between the palm oil companies and the interested renewable energy developers. The hard approach is by controlling the access to biogas resources and tendering the utilization of the biogas transparently if the producing palm oil company has no interest in utilizing them. Ade Cahyat is team leader for the Capacity Development Component at the Indonesia-German development project Green Economy Locally Appropriate Mitigation Action in Indonesia. Daddy Ruhiyat is a professor and climate policy advisor to the governor of East Kalimantan. The views expressed are their own. Source: Jakarta Post

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

42 GREEN SOLUTION

A PALM OIL KING DEVELOPS A GREEN CONSCIENCE Wilmar International’s chairman is cleaning up the industry that made him a billionaire

business practices that may start to slow the environmental damage in the region. “I would consider myself an environmentalist today,” he says. “I changed a few years ago when I saw the damage climate change had on the environment in some countries.”

Known as the palm oil king, Kuok is a member of one of Asia’s most powerful business clans and co-founder and chairman of Wilmar International. These days he is no longer portrayed as a villain by activists and nongovernmental organizations. He’s become central to their campaign to prod the palm oil industry to adopt eco-friendly

Extracted from the orange pulp of a palm fruit, palm oil is the most used edible oil in the world. You use it every time you brush your teeth, wash your hair, eat ice cream, or put on lipstick. As commodities go, it’s cheap, versatile, and plentiful—palm fruit yields more oil than any other agricultural commodity. Cultivation of palm oil ties up more than 42 million acres worldwide, an area four times the size of Switzerland.

he sprawling palm oil industry has long been a destroyer of rain forests and tormentor of endangered species across Southeast Asia, to hear environmental groups tell it. And if one executive embodied this $50 billion business, it was Kuok Khoon Hong, a 65-year-old Singaporean commodities magnate.

» ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

Two hundred ninety-four palm oil mills have been certified sustainable. Photographer: Agung Kuncahya B/Xinhua/ Zumapress

The pulp and kernels of inedible palm fruits are separated, then squeezed, for oil. Photographer: John van Hasselt/Corbis

GREEN SOLUTION 43

The business has made Kuok a billionaire and lifted many communities in Southeast Asia and Africa out of poverty. It’s also led to mass deforestation and a big air pollution problem. Some palm growers still take a slash-and-burn approach to clearing forests, although the practice is banned in Indonesia and Malaysia. That sends massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the air. In parts of Southeast Asia, only 5 percent of primary, or virgin, forest cover remains, according to Global Witness, an environmental group. Kuok’s change in thinking has been gradual and owes much to pressure

from shareholders and environmental activists. About two years ago, Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, dumped shares in Wilmar and 22 palm companies, citing environmentally harmful industry practices. Greenpeace videos alleging that palm oil buyers including Unilever and Procter & Gamble contribute to deforestation scored millions of YouTube hits. On an investor call, environmentalists heckled the chief executive officer of Kellogg about buying palm oil from Wilmar. In 2013, Singapore, where Wilmar is based and

Kuok lives, was covered in ash from plantation fires tied to the industry. A Chinese immigrant family in British-controlled Malaya, the Kuoks started with a rice and flour shop before patriarch Robert Kuok rose to be one of the world’s top sugar traders. Robert’s nephew Khoon Hong set up Wilmar with a partner in 1991. Operating largely in Malaysia and Indonesia, the company grew to be one of Singapore’s biggest, with $43 billion in revenue in 2014, and it’s the Kuoks’ premier agribusiness. Wilmar had argued that it was primarily a trading company and didn’t

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

44 GREEN SOLUTION

Graphic by Bloomberg Businessweek; Data: Foreign Agricultural Service; USDA Estimates

play a direct role in the environmental abuses—and thus couldn’t be expected to police the industry. Nevertheless, it was an attractive target for critics. One activist went on TV to blame Singapore’s ash on Wilmar. “I asked myself what we did wrong for us to be so wrongly accused,” Kuok Khoon Hong says. Because of Wilmar’s industry position, “we were made to look like the biggest villain.” The activist on TV was Glenn Hurowitz, an executive director of the environmental consulting group Catapult, in Washington, and one of the strategists behind a yearlong attack by NGOs on the palm industry, with Wilmar as the No. 1 target. Kuok tracked down Hurowitz. Within weeks the former tormentor was in Kuok’s office laying out a plan to change the palm oil industry and eradicate its links to deforestation. Face to face with Kuok, Hurowitz says he found the businessman interested in what he had to say. “He had not been focused on the environmental issues until we started talking,” Hurowitz says. “He deserves enormous credit for being open-minded.” By late 2013 the sustainability momentum brought in Unilever CEO Paul Polman, whose company is the world’s biggest buyer of palm oil. Polman joined the talks as Unilever had been under pressure from activists. Wilmar, Unilever, and environmental groups wanted all palm oil companies to sign off on new industry standards, but most resisted. When Unilever agreed to join with Wilmar, Kuok broke industry ranks and made the environmental pledge in late 2013.

Wilmar and Unilever announced that not only would they abide by sustainable principles but they would also force their suppliers to do the same. They effectively promised that no trees of any kind, peat land, or orangutans were damaged or hurt in the making of the products. More companies jumped on board with zerodeforestation pledges. McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble, and Starbucks are among more than 30 companies with commitments to buy palm oil that’s certified as sustainable by the end of 2015. Wilmar and Unilever are backing a database system that asks companies involved in the sale and purchase of palm oil to detail their transactions. If it works, industry players will be able to check the original source of their palm oil and determine whether the supplier is compliant with environmentally friendly practices. Yet another tool, an online map built by the World Resources Institute environmental group, uses satellite imagery to identify forest fires and tree clearing. In January, Wilmar set up a website that catalogs its supplier mills and plantations and lets visitors to the site check whether these are in an area that’s been deforested.

push. Nor are the initiatives Wilmar and others have signed on to legally binding. Restoring the lost rain forests and animal habitats will take decades. Still, the campaign is more than a public-relations gesture, says Dave McLaughlin, vice president for agriculture at the World Wildlife Fund:

“They’re putting their credibility on the line.” These global companies, he says, “really are exposed on the palm oil issue. It’s difficult. The circumstances and the issues are not easy, but they’re doing it.” Source: Bloomsberg

Under the Frond

The push to clean up palm oil production faces big challenges. It’s a fragmented industry, and not every company has joined the sustainability

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

Palm oil is used in products such as toothpaste. Source: Alamy

7 THN E TH ITIO ED OF

4 thINDONESIA INTERNATIONAL PALM OIL CONFERENCE 2015

3-5

BOO NO K W!

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

46 DID YOU KNOW ?

EARLY RESEARCH SUGGESTS PALM POLYPHENOLS MAY LOWER DIABETES SYMPTOMS DID YOU KNOW ?

f you have type 2 diabetes, or have been told that you are at risk of developing the disease, you may want to monitor promising new research on palm polyphenols. Researchers worldwide are studying the effect of palmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s polyphenols on diabetes, and so far, the results are very encouraging. Results of the first study, conducted in the labs of leading Brandeis University researcher Professor KC Hayes, suggest that palmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s polyphenols, such as those derived from sustainable Malaysian palm plantations, may deter diabetes or reverse its advancement. The results were published in the Journal of Nutritional Science. Metabolic diseases such as diabetes are increasing worldwide, encouraging researchers to study ways our diet may help prevent these dangerous conditions. The objective of the latest study was to document the degree to which palm fruit juice reduces diabetes symptoms in an animal model with carbohydrate-induced type 2 diabetes (diabetes mellitus). In five experiments lasting four to 36 weeks, Nile rats were fed either a healthy laboratory diet or a diet known to promote diabetes. Palm juice was provided as a drink or mixed into the diet to provide palm polyphenol intakes from 170 to 720mg

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

gallic acid equivalents per kilogram of body weight. To measure diabetes progression, body weight and blood sugar (glucose) levels were measured at different times and analyzed along with insulin and liver lipids levels. The study showed that the palm fruit juice counteracted the high blood glucose levels and also promoted a reduction of blood lipid level in all experiments. This delayed the onset of type 2 diabetes and even reversed the advancing disease. The protection was directly related to the palm polyphenol amount received. No negative effects on growth or energy intake were observed. The study results suggest that the palm polyphenols may slow the rate of blood sugar absorption. Palm polyphenols also may have an effect on insulin, the hormone the body uses to regulate blood sugar levels, by reducing its resistance and/or enhancing its secretion. A clinical study just began in Malaysia to study the effect of palm polyphenols supplementation on pre-diabetics. Malaysian palm oil is a rich source of polyphenols, including carotenes and tocotrienols. Source : PalmoilHealth.org

DID YOU KNOW ? 47

USE OF NANOHYBRID BIOCOMPOSITE REDUCES COST OF BUILDING FISH CAGES

he use of nanohybrid biocomposites made from oil palm empty fruit bunch fibre, and padi dust and husk fibre can save up to 30 per cent of the cost of making fish cages for aquaculture breeding. Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) Minister, Datuk Dr Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah said the new technology could be an alternative which could replace wood as the building material for aquaculture cages. He said the technology was first used in Pulau Simpang Tiga Langkawi, Kedah in a project on cage construction technology for aquaculture purposes which was jointly conducted by the Malaysian Nuclear Agency and the

Fisheries Research Institute Fisheries Department.

the

as well as a showcase farm at the precommercialisation stage.

“The project can contribute to ensuring the safety and supply of food products for the country and help improve the standard of living of workers in the fishery sector,” he told Bernama.

He said the technology would provide a new alternative to replace the use of wood in building aquaculture cages which were affordable to breeders and fishermen.

Abu Bakar said the use of alternative resources would also contribute to a better environment, reduce solid waste disposal and carbon release as well as reduce energy consumption from waste burning. Meanwhile, the Director-General of the Malaysian Nuclear Agency Datuk Dr Muhamad Lebai Juri said for this year, Mosti had approved the RM650,000 for Technofund to build prototypes of cages

Dr Muhamad said the agency had the capabilities and expertise to apply nuclear technology which could improve the quality and strength of a substance. “Malaysian Nuklear intends to extend the use of these techniques to benefit the public in all areas to support the national development agenda,” he said. Source: Bernama

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48 TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCT NEWS

ALFA LAVAL

D3 PRO 3-PHASE OIL RECOVERY PROCESS

How much would you save in a year if you can recover oil for an additional of 0.1% to FFB/hr?

ost plant managers today are calling for a more sustainable crude palm oil process that can recover more oil, minimize costs and optimize yield. To achieve all the requirements to meet the challenges and at the same time be profitable in one process may sound too good to be true. But what if Alfa Laval could break this myth by improving the absolute oil loss of 0.1% to FFB/hr? The Alfa Laval D3 PRO process is a revolutionary design that takes all the challenges nowadays into consideration, to bring performance beyond current practice. Needless to say, the success does not come naturally. Alfa Laval has been involved in the palm oil industry for decades and it was only after countless of meetings with plant managers, operators and consultants, they have now an answer to the demands

of process that is less in cost, produces more oil and minimum effluent. The D3 PRO improves your process and saves you money right from the start. That is because Alfa Laval system requires no dilution water. With its patented feed zone, Alfa Laval 3-phase decanter can separate undiluted crude oil, even at high capacity. This represents significant savings in time, energy consumption, water usage and labor.

How Does D3 PRO Work?

Unlike the traditional 2-phase system, D3 PRO can avoid oil loss by going through the third phase to recover oil from the heavy phase. It is estimated that the average plant loses 0.40% of oil to FFB in the separation process. With the D3 PRO, however, the heavy phase is sent to our high speed, disk stack centrifuge where oil is recovered and re-routed in the system. This step in the process can amount to significant increases in yield and profit. For instance, if a plant processes

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

250,000 tons/year and recovers an additional 0.1% of oil to FFB, the amount of recovered oil will be 250 mt. If one metric tonne of oil is valued at USD 920, this represents an additional revenue of USD 230,000 per year.

Maximum Oil Recovery

Sengfook Liew, Separation Manager, SEA Competency Centre, who was actively involving in the R&D of D3 PRO, had an ideal oil recovery room in his mind. “An effective oil clarification room should be able to achieve maximum oil recovery, meaning that there shall be lowest oil loss, be simple to operate, give consistent results and minimize effluent discharge. This is the basic requirement for a good oil recovery system.” “In the palm oil mills’ environment, any system introduced must be easy to operate and not require highly skilled personnel. The remoteness of most mills and the difficulty of acquiring skilled workers is constantly a problem.”

TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCT NEWS 49

The D3 PRO Allows You To : • Recover lost oil for higher yields and profit • Separate without dilution water • Reduce effluent by up to 30% • Create a light phase with no need for additional purification • Operate at high capacity • Create cake for other income sources such as fertilizer • Save space and money by eliminating a continuous vertical settling tank from your process • Reduce water, energy and labour costs • Minimize maintenance and man-hours

Alfa Laval’s D3 PRO combined clarification, purification and oil recovery process has been adopted by numerous crude palm oil mills across the world with a total capacity of 80 tons FFB/h.

• Separate crude palm oil 24 h/d • Consistent separation and oil quality • No unnecessarily long holding time and exposure to oxidation

» »

oil recovery provides numerous advantages over traditional 3-phase systems and most current 2-phase models for crude palm oil. It is available with different capacity from 30 to 90 tons fresh fruit bunches (FFB)/hour.

Alfa Laval 3-phase decanter

“Furthermore,” said Liew, “the system must also be able to tolerate the fluctuation of the composition of the press liquor. The composition varies depending on the fruit type, seasonal changes and upstream processing conditions e.g temperature, water addition etc. So it is imperative that any clarification system introduced must be able to cater for these fluctuations and still be able to produce consistently low oil losses results.”

Minimum Effluent

“Not to forget the handling and treatment of effluent discharge. It posed one of the biggest challenges to the industry. With a concerted push

by environmental regulating agencies, mills have to ensure that the effluent from the mills are properly controlled and treated. If the amount of effluent can be minimized it will go a long way to mitigate this problem.” “The Alfa Laval’s new D3 PRO clarification system is designed with the above points in mind. It has been tested and operated for more than a year in a commercial mill and the results have been most promising. It is our effort to design a system that can fulfill these demanding requirements.”

About D3 PRO

The D3 PRO process for combined clarification and purification and

The main workhorse of this process is our 3-phase decanter, capable of high capacity separation with no need for dilution water. This means considerably less effluent for smaller, more manageable ponds. It helps to reduce water consumption and effluent by up to 30%. The process produces a light phase that is “ready-to-go” with no need for further purification. At the same time, the heavy phase can be further separated to recover oil and a cake phase that can be used for additional sources of income. D3 PRO can be designed to be a selfautomated system capable of operating 24 hours a day, with minimal maintenance or supervisory requirements It all adds up to a system that can make your plant more profitable and manageable in today’s competitive palm oil industry.

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

50 TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCT NEWS

Kanji Tsutsui (left) and Mr Chan Cheu Leong (right) launching the Shinko Steam Turbine

FIRST LOCALLY ASSEMBLED SHINKO STEAM TURBINE LAUNCHED IN MALAYSIA PMT Shinko Turbine Sdn Bhd all set to meet market demand locally and abroad

Shah Alam, 6 February 2015 – PMT Shinko Turbine Sdn Bhd, an associate of Wah Seong Corporation Berhad (WSC) launched its first locally assembled Shinko Steam Turbine today. The Launch was Held at its plant and head office in Shah Alam Selangor and officiated by Mr. Chan Cheu Leong, Managing Director / Group CEO of Wah Seong Corporation Berhad as well as Mr. Kanji Tsutsui, President of Shinko Ind.Ltd. The locally assembled Shinko Steam Turbine model RB4 is a back pressure steam turbine with a capacity of 1200KW. The strategic joint venture and technology transfer with Shinko are both part of WSC’s Renewable Energy Division’s initiative to pursue an energy mix that includes clean and renewable energy for the Asean region as well as meet the rising demands

for stram turbines, boilers and kernel crushing plants for palm oil and agro based industries.

how and technology will be an added advantage to our operations as well as enhancement of our expertise.”

The renewable Energy Division of Wah Seong Corporation is all geared up to expand both regionally and globally by strengthening its presence in Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Africa and Latin America.

Meanwhile, Kanji Tsutsui, President of Shinko Said, “We are committed to staying and growing together with PMT. Our investment in the business as well as deployment of innovative, efficient and sustainable technologies will be able to push PMT to become more competitive in the global market.”

According to Chan Cheu Leong, Managing Director of Group CEO of Wag Seong Corporation Berhad, “The launch of our locally assembled steam turbine is part of our strategic decision to meet the demands of the fast growing economy and our commitment towards sustainable development. With a reputable and reliable partner like Shinko, we aspire to be the first turbine assembler of manufacturer in Malaysia. The transfer of know-

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

PMT Shinko Turbine aims to effectively utilize the new plant and play a key role in assembling and distributing Shinko steam turbines in Malaysia and the Asean region. During its infancy period this year, the plant targets to assemble between 10-15 units of the turbines followed by 4-5 units every month starting next years.

TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCT NEWS 51

Mr Chan Cheu Leong, Managing Director/ Group CEO of Wah Seong Corporation Berhad

Guests viewing the newly launched steam turbine

Interesting Japanese Drum performance during the launching

Shinko Steam Turbine Model RB4 with capacity of 1200 KW

The management team of Wah Seong Corporation Berhad and PMT Shinko Turbine Sdn Bhd.

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

52 THE PLANTER’S CORNER

CAMEROON: GOVERNMENT ASSURES FARMERS OF FREE SEEDLINGS

he Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development was in Kumba, South West Region recently.

Agriculture and Rural Development Minister, Essimi Menye, has disclosed that, in no distant time, Cameroon will start producing high-yielding cassava, maize, vegetables, palm oil and plantains on an industrial scale, to ascertain food security and job opportunities. The Minister was speaking recently, at the head office of the Mukete Estate Limited in Kumba, during a one day working visit to the plantations of Senator Nfon V.E Mukete. According to Essimi Menye, the Mukete Estate Limited is larger and more productive than one could think. In a bit to acknowledge the contribution of this great farmer to other aspects of the nation, the Minister said he has left an indelible mark in the private sector. He used the forum to call on the people of Kumba, to follow the footsteps of Senator Nfon V.E Mukete, the one he described as “captain in the agro-industrial sector.” He revealed that government is encouraging farming through the provision of farm seeds and funding to farmers for the processing and good use of produce free of charge.

Minister Essimi Menye took time off to visit the Agro-industrial sector with palms, rubber and cocoa plantations, alongside a pineapple farm and a cattle range to show. Processing materials were off for show. Some of the farms are getting over 100 years with production going beyond handling capacity, creating employment and meeting with the industrial demands in the country. While acknowledging government’s inputs in funding and farm chemicals, the General Manager of Mukete Estate Limited, Godfred Mbe Mukete, said their endeavour will become more sustainable and productive if the capacity of the oil mill in Banga Bakundu is increased to step up its daily 14 tones production, as well as setting up of a pineapple factory among others. The GM observed that, the Minister’s visit will bring in new innovations into rural farming. He disclosed that the plantation was founded in 1910, with cocoa being the main crop cultivated. Adding that, the estate now boasts of some 300 workers on its pay roll with social benefits such as water, electricity and schools, provided to their camps. The Minister was accompanied by the Governor of the Southwest

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

Region, Bernard Okalia Bilai who alongside Nfon V.E Mukete, visited the plantations in Banga-Bakundu and Nkamlikum before being received by the Government Delegate to the Kumba City Council, Victor Nkelle Ngoh and the population on the esplanade of the Mukete Estate Limited Head Office in Kumba. Source: AllAfrica.com

Cameroon will start producing high-yielding cassava, maize, vegetables, palm oil and plantains on an industrial scale, to ascertain food security and job opportunities.

THE PLANTER’S CORNER 53

INDONESIA PALM OIL BATTLE PITS FARMERS AGAINST BIG PLANTATIONS - TRFN

n investigation into one of Indonesia’s major palm oil producer’s plans to expand its plantations has turned into a test case for agribusiness firms eyeing indigenous land and campaigners fighting for the land rights of local people. Golden Agri-Resources, a Singapore-based firm, operates palm oil plantations covering about 250,000 hectares in Indonesia and wants to expand in 18 of its subsidiaries in Indonesia’s Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo. Rights groups accuse the company of taking land from local people without free and informed consent -- breaching sustainability guidelines which require residents to approve land deals. The showdown is just one of an estimated 4,000 land-related conflicts between palm oil producers and local communities recorded by Indonesia’s government in the world’s biggest palm oil producing nation. Palm oil companies have been criticised for accelerating deforestation, destroying carbon-rich peat land and creating an annual haze problem caused by slash-and-burn land clearance.

This particular fight is happening largely behind closed doors among members of the Complaints Panel of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), in what campaigners consider a crucial test for the monitoring body. This week, the RSPO decided that a complaint about unfair displacement of people due to Golden Agri-Resources’ operations had merits to go ahead. Activists consider it a victory. “Not a single person who surrendered their land had a copy of the contract they signed,” Marcus Colchester, a campaigner from the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) advocacy group, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from London. The row broke out last November after it emerged that more than 5,000 small farmers were moved off their land in one of the concessions the Forest Peoples Programme studied. Colchester believes this number “represents just the tip of the iceberg”. Golden Agri-Resources did not respond to requests for an interview, but issued a statement saying it would “continue to work constructively with the FPP to resolve the issues”.

The company said it had stopped planting on any new land, and therefore was not displacing any farmers while the RSPO investigation continued. “All new plantings have been halted since 3 November 2014,” Golden Agri-Resources said in a statement on Thursday. “We will keep the situation under constant review as this process continues.” The complaint at the RSPO alleges that many residents left their land believing they had signed a short lease with the company, rather than having relinquished it altogether. Indonesia produced 31 million tonnes of palm oil last year, Agricultureintelligence research group reported. The oil is used in products ranging from biofuel to cooking oil and cosmetics. Practices at plantations such as clearing land through burning have depleted forests and caused smoke haze across Southeast Asia. Of the world’s total palm oil production, 85 percent comes from Indonesia and Malaysia, according to the RSPO. Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

54 EVENT HIGHLIGHT

MOU Exchange between MBIC, SIRIM Berhad and the Regional Corridor Development Authority (RECODA) From left: Y.Bhg. Dato’ Leong Kin Mun, Y.Bhg. Dato’ Dr. Zainal Abidin Mohd. Yusof (President and Chief Executive of SIRIM Berhad), YB Datuk Dr. Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah, Y.Bhg. Dato’ Mizan Yahya (Secretary General, MBIC), Mr. Kamil Daniel Yap (Chief Investment Officer, RECODA) and Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Dato’ Soong Siew Hoong (Advisor of MBIC)

MALAYSIA BIOMASS INDUSTRIES CONTINUE TO FLOURISH

UCHONG – Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) is particularly wise to the vast potential of the biomass sector in developing and employing innovative, high-end technologies, given the industry’s constant push for improvement of operations and processes to increase efficiency in the conversion of waste-to-wealth whilst reducing impact on the environment. This was the key message of YB Datuk Dr. Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah, Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation in his opening address at the Malaysia Biomass Industry Networking Seminar organised by Malaysia Biomass Industries Confederation (MBIC). Over the last few years, biomass has taken on increasingly diverse roles in contributing to Malaysia’s economy, from addressing energy security requirements and mitigating climate change, to production of higher-value products and bio-chemicals. Despite challenges such as feedstock availability and instability in prices, the industry has continued to flourish.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

EVENT HIGHLIGHT 55 Recognising the importance of R&D and innovation towards achieving such goals, MOSTI is provisioning various grants such as the ScienceFund, TechnoFund and InnoFund to aid both institutions of higher learning and SMEs in undertaking the pre-commercialization of new cutting-edge and breakthrough technologies, and to facilitate greater utilization of these funds by the biomass sector, YB Datuk Dr. Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah has invited the MBIC President, Dato’ Leong Kin Mun to join MOSTI as evaluation panel for biomass related projects.

Seeing an encouraging participation of more than 180 participants from over 112 companies including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), government agencies, research universities, government-linked companies (GLCs), plantation companies, technology providers and commercialization entrepreneurs, this 3rd Networking Seminar is not only aimed at keeping the Malaysian biomass stakeholders updated in the latest happenings in the sector, but also offer a chance for members to mingle and seek out business opportunities.

“MOSTI is currently looking towards implementing a “Buy Back” Policy for local innovations so that they can be commercialised. We hope to have an allocation of RM500 million for this purpose, and we are targeting 360 local R&D products to be commercialized over the next six years” concluded YB Datuk Dr. Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah.

“MBIC has worked strategically to expand its horizons in an attempt to bridge the overwhelming gap that exist between local biomass industry players and the muchneeded support from government organizations, research institutions and financial entities. To this end, MBIC has synergized with various local and international organisations to contribute to both research and policy

Y.Bhg. Dato’ Leong Kin Mun, President of Malaysia Biomass Industries Confederation (MBIC) delivering the Welcoming Speech.

» »

The honourable guest with the participants of the Malaysia Biomass Industry Networking Seminar 2015.

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

56 EVENT HIGHLIGHT level intervention efforts”, said Dato’ Leong Kin Mun, President of MBIC. However, he noted one of the biggest drawbacks to the growth of the biomass industry in Malaysia has been the scarcity of knowledge on the various biomass business models. “To overcome this glaring pitfall, MBIC has organised several initiatives, from briefing session with various banking institutions in Malaysia to help create awareness and understanding on biomass business models to facilitate ease of obtaining financing for biomass SMEs.”

Among notable speakers presenting at the seminar were Ms. Jessica Hong, Principal Consultant, Finet Associates Sdn. Bhd., Mr. Tan Kwang Miang, Director, Strategy & Initiatives, Business Banking, Community Financial Services, Maybank, Dr. Wei-Nee Chen, Chief Corporate Officer, Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) Malaysia, and Mr. Ong Ewe Hock, Managing Director, DuPont Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. For more information, please contact MBIC Secretariat at 03-8884 8922 or visit our website at www.biomass.org.my

“MBIC has become the voice of the biomass sector, a mediating platform that connects the industry and government. As such, we would encourage everyone here to leverage on this platform, not only for networking, partnerships, gaining knowledge and best practices, but to voice out issues and challenges that needs to be brought forth to the government/policy makers”, said Dato’ Leong Kin Mun before ending his speech.

MBIC has marked another stepping stone with the signing of MOU with SIRIM Berhad and the Regional Corridor Development Authority (RECODA) on biomass technology enhancement, and has been witnessed by YB Datuk Dr. Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah and all the participants during the Malaysia Biomass Industry Networking Seminar 2015.

» ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

YB Datuk Dr. Abu Bakar Bin Mohamad Diah (Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation) giving the Opening Keynote Address.

Delegates listening to the Opening Keynote Address

EVENT HIGHLIGHT 57

This world’s first MSPO Lead Auditor Course was participated by pool of professionals from ex-General Manager of Forestry Corporation, ex-Land Development Officer cum University Visiting Lecturer, NGO’s Advocate cum Commissioner for Oath, MPOB Certified CoP Auditors, Oil Palm/Forestry and Social & Environmental experts to ISCC Auditor. The course was delivered by MSPO Lead Auditor and MPOB’s Head of Sustainability Standard and Certification Centre and during this

n line with the establishment and official launching of Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) MS 2530:2013, DQS Malaysia has designed, developed and conducted the world’s very FIRST MSPO Lead Auditor Course from 26th to 30th January 2015.

WORLD’S FIRST MSPO LEAD AUDITOR COURSE!

The MSPO Lead Auditors in making – participants with the trainers Mr. Mohd Mokmin Bahari 3rd left (MPOB Head of Sustainability Standard and Certification Centre) Mr. Damanhuri (DQS’s MSPO Lead Auditor) presenting the specific requirements in compliance with MSPO

training, the participants acquired the necessary knowledge and skills to proficiently plan and perform internal and external audits in compliance with ISO 19011; the certification process according to ISO 17021. Based on practical exercises, the participants developed the skills (mastering audit techniques) and competencies (managing audit teams and audit program, communicating with customers, conflict resolution, etc.) necessary to efficiently conduct an audit. Effectiveness of the course was evaluated by the examination undertaken during the last session of the course. Visit us on the web at www.dqs. com.my or email to mspo@dqs.com. my for further info.

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

58 FBI IN ACTION

REACH AND REMIND FRIENDS OF THE INDUSTRY SEMINAR 2015 AND DIALOGUE

he Reach & Remind Friends of the Industry Seminar 2015 and Dialogue was successfully organized by MPOC (Malaysia Palm Oil Council) on 12th February 2015, at Putrajaya Marriot Hotel. The seminar achieved a participation of almost 400 stakeholders. 6 papers were presented in this seminar, and a dialogue with YB Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, Minister of Plantation Industires and Commodities, Malaysia. Roundtable discussion themed “ Strategies And Tools For Enhancing Global Market Access Of Malaysian Palm Oil in 2015” was also moderated by Mr. Chong Kim Seng, CEO of Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Berhad.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

Keynote address By YB Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, Minister Of Plantation Industries and Commodities: Y.B. Dato’ Noriah binti Kasnon Timbalan Menteri Kementerian Perusahaan Perladangan dan Komoditi Y.Bhg. Datuk Himmat Singh Ketua Setiausaha Kementerian Perusahaan Perladangan dan Komoditi Y.B. Dato’ Ar Haji Wan Mohammad Khair-il Annuar Wan Ahmad Pengerusi Lembaga Minyak Sawit Malaysia Y.Bhg. Dato’ Lee Yeow Chor Pengerusi Majlis Minyak Sawit Malaysia Y.Bhg. Datuk Dr. Choo Yuen May Ketua Pengarah Lembaga Minyak Sawit Malaysia Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Yusof Basiron Ketua Pegawai Ekesekutif Majlis Minyak Sawit Malaysia

FBI IN ACTION 59

Datin Noor Habsah Kamis (right) President / CEO of Better World Communication Group

Conference delegates are reading Asia Palm Oil Magazine

Distribution of Asia Palm Oil Magazine at the conference

Keynote Address By YB Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas Minister Of Plantation Industries And Commodities Tan Sri-Tan Sri, Datuk-Datuk, Dif-dif Kehormat, Tuan-tuan dan Puan-puan sekalian. Selamat Pagi, Salam 1 Malaysia.

Salam

Sejahtera,

Terlebih dahulu, saya ingin merakamkan penghargaan dan terima kasih kepada para hadirin kerana dapat melapangkan masa untuk menghadiri Reach and Remind Friends of the Industry Seminar and Dialogue 2015. Seminar ini adalah penting kerana ia menyediakan landasan untuk bertukar-tukar pandangan dan perbincangan mengenai halatuju industri sawit pada tahun 2015. Ladies and Gentlemen, I take this opportunity to record my appreciation to all of you for your presence here today at this Reach and Remind Friends of the Industry Seminar 2015 and Dialogue. I am also happy to note the attendance at

this seminar by a wide spectrum of representatives from the palm oil industry. We are here today in this early part of the year to deliberate on current issues and to map out the options and actions neededto ensure a healthy and profitable 2015, and the continued resilience of the palm oil industry. Currently, the global economic scenario is confronted with a number of issues including the sharp decline in Brent crude petroleum prices since December 2014 and slower economic recovery in major developed countries. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its latest review projects global economic growth at 3.5% in 2015 and 3.7% in 2016, a revision downwards of 0.3% from its earlier projection. China, the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second largest economy in 2014 recorded a lower economic growth of 7.5% and this has repercussions for Asian countries, including Malaysia. In the context of

commodity products, China accounts for close to 20 percent of Malaysiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s global exports of palm oil and palm oil products. The slower global economic growth is also reflected by the softening of palm oil prices, where the average price of crude palm oil (CPO) in 2013 was RM2,371 per tonne, increasing to RM2,383 per tonne in 2014, and for the month of January 2015, the average price of CPO was RM2,294 per tonne. The softening of CPO prices was also contributed by an increase in the production of other competing vegetable oils, notably soya bean oil. Global soya bean production in 2014, especially in the third quarter of 2014 increased by 16.6 percent, compared to the similar period in 2013. This indirectly places pressure on CPO prices, with the margin between soya bean oil and CPO reduced to about USD88 per tonne currently, compared to an average of USD200 per tonne in 2014. In addition,

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

60 FBI IN ACTION

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addition, the palm oil industry in Malaysia has intensified its efforts to better manage biodiversity, conserve the environment, and subject itself to certification demands. We will continue to encourage the industry to work hard towards ensuring that Malaysian palm oil production adheres to sustainability standards.

YB Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities

projected CPO production by both Malaysia and Indonesia in 2015 is expected to be 51.1 million tonnes, compared to 49.2 million tonnes in 2014. It is important for the palm oil industry to assess this scenario and explore measures that would contribute towards strengthening CPO prices, as well as increasing exports of Malaysian palm oil. This is important taking into account that this industry is the mainstay of the agricultural Gross Domestic Product and we need to continuously identify steps to strengthen this industry, including towards ensuring remunerative income to the smallholders. In addition to the price issue, the palm oil industry continues to face the negative perceptions and allegations leveled at it by many quarters. These anti-palm oil sentiments areorchestrated by NonGovernmental Organisation (NGOs) that use a very narrow, environmental lens overlooking the numerous and significant contributions that the palm oil industry has made to the global food security, poverty alleviation, economic and sustainable development. In the context of Malaysia, we have adequate laws and regulations to ensure the sustainable development of this industry. In

The industry in Malaysia also adheres to voluntary international certifications on sustainability, including the industry initiative under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and Germanyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) schemes. We will also be implementing the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification scheme beginning 2015 and will be progressively implemented in stages throughout the country. In addition, the Government will also encourage Malaysian companies to become model suppliers, so that palm oil from Malaysian is synonymous for its quality and sustainable production. All these industry efforts have resulted in an ever increasing quantity of certified palm oil being produced in Malaysia. Our current estimates for Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) production in Malaysia is about 6 million metric tonnes or slightly more than one third of our total palm oil production. In addition, Malaysia will continue to invest in Research & Development activities to make available new palm based products, in particular pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products for the global community. My Ministry in association with its agencies has undertaken a series of campaigns to address the unsubstantiated and negative image about palm oil. In Europe, we have formed alliances with the palm oil processors as well as food manufacturers. We are also engaged in consumer campaigns in key European countries so that palm oil is seen for what it is, both from the perspectives of nutritional properties and sustainable production. The Government will continue to assist the industry to address the obstacles faced in penetrating new

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

markets while making the palm oil industry more competitive. In tandem with current Government initiatives, I urge all players in the palm oil industry to implement strategies towards continuous improvement to give our global customers greater confidence in the Malaysian palm oil supply chain. In this context, you will have to continuously innovate by investing in research and development, new technologies and smart partnerships. While notable progress is evident, there is further room for innovation and improvement. In this regard, on Friday, 13 February 2014, the Ministry together with PEMANDU and relevant industry stakeholders will be completing the review of the Palm Oil National Key Economic Area (NKEA) aimed at among others, exploring new measures to strengthen the long term resilience of this industry. This is taking into account that the palm oil industry is targeted as one of the key areas in the economic transformation of the nation into a high income country by 2020. Among the areas of focus include enhancing the oil extraction rate and encouraging the industry to venture into high value added downstream products. I am optimistic that the three weeks long palm oil NKEA review process will provide new directions as well as measures for the benefit of the industry. I am hopeful that todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gathering and dialogue will provide a much needed window of opportunity to discuss the latest developments in the palm oil industry, as well as to plan the future course of action to strengthen the industry. In this regard, I would like to thank the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) for organising this annual seminar for the benefit of the oil palm industry. I also like to take this opportunity to wish all our Chinese friends, an dvance Happy and Prosperous New Year. Lastly, I urge all of you present today to participate actively and put forward your views and suggestions to ensure that the Malaysian palm oil industry remains a strategic economic sector and a global powerhouse in the oils and fats industry. Thank you.

FBI IN ACTION 61

Delegates in the conference hall

Tea break for the conference delegates

Y. Bhg. Datoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Lee Yeow Chor, President of Palm Oil Council

Complimentary magazines for the delegates

Some useful informations were exhibited

April-June 2015 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

62 FBI IN ACTION

Launching of MPOC publication by Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, YB Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas

GROWN BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE,

AN INSIGHT INTO THE SMALL PEOPLE OF THE PALM OIL INDUSTRY

The 60-page book, Grown by the People, for the People entails human stories of those dedicated to the palm oil industry. From plantations and oil mills, to multinationals who use it in their products, and finally those enterprising entrepreneurs finding new ways to utilize palm waste, palm oil has one singular commonality - the ever so pervasive sweat generated by all those who work in this constantly evolving and growing palm oil industry. Each of the hardworking individuals portrayed in this book has his or her own unique story to tell. Adding to these are interesting infographics on palm oil facts as well as beautiful images. These images are from MPOC’s World Palm Portraits photography competition, an annual international

competition that provides an avenue for both amateur and professional photographers to give their best shots of the world’s prized commodity.

Putrajaya, Feb 11, 2015 – A book launch on Malaysian Palm Oil Council’s latest publication by Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas took place today during the council’s Reach & Remind event at Putrajaya today.

The 60-page book, Grown by the People, For the People

Touching stories, beautiful images, and interesting infographics ensure that this book is a collector’s must have. This book will also be available online on www.palmoiltv.org and www.mpoc.org.my. The Minister was also pleased to launch the photography competition, which is in its third year following the launching of the book. For more info on the competition, visit www.palmoiltv.org and www.palmportraits.com.my.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

FBI IN ACTION 63

MALAYSIAN PALM OIL COUNCIL’S ESSAY WRITING COMPETITION 2015 12th February 2015, Putrajaya An International Essay writing Competition on the titles 1) “Palm Oil is not a driver of Deforestation” 2) “Oils and fats consumptions does not increased risk of coronary heart disease”, organized by Malaysian Palm Oil Council was launched by the Minister of Plantation, Industries and Commodities, Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas during the council’s Reach & Remind 2015 event at Putrajaya today. The essay competition, is open to both local and international participants over the age of 18 years. Participants can choose to submit an essay on title 1) “Palm Oil is not the

driver of Deforestation” or on title 2) “. Fats including palm oil consumption is no longer associated with coronary heart disease.” Or, they can also submit essays on both topics. The main objective of this competition to create awareness among the general public on the false and inaccurate portrayal of palm oil by the NGOs in their anti palm oil campaign. Attractive cash prices will be offered for both titles 1 and 2. Participants can start submitting their entries after 15th February 2015 and is on 15th May 2015. For more information on the essay competition, please visit www.mpoc.org.my

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WORLD PALM PORTRAITS PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION, DISCOVERING NATURE’S GIFT THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY

» Putrajaya, Feb 11, 2015 -A photography competition, World Palm Portraits Photography Competition, organized by Malaysian Palm Oil Council was launched by the Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas during the council’s Reach & Remind 2015 event at Putrajaya today. The international competition, which is in its third year, is open to both amateur and professional photographers. Participants are expected to capture palm oil and its multitude applications from their own perspectives. Entries can be submitted under any of the four categories; Black & White, People & Portraits, Nature & Wildlife and Fine Art & Photo Manipulation. The first three categories may be on images of plantations, farmers, and wildlife while the last category is introduced to allow manipulation of pictures by photographers who

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

Launching of World Palm Portraits Photography Competition 2015 by the Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, YB Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas

may not have access to palm oil or palm fruits. Photographers may then submit aesthetically photographed food or non-food products, among others. Submissions for the competition have been steadily rising with almost 600 and 1000 entries in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Last year saw 150 international participants including those from Turkey, UAE, USA, UK, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines participating with two winners from outside Malaysia. Participants can start submitting their entries after 15th March 2015 and the closing date is on 30th June 2015. For more information on the photography competition, please visit www.palmportraits.com.my

Palm Oil Events List 2015 PALMEX Malaysia 2015 date: 29th-31st July 2015 venue: Dewan Sri Perdana, Lahad Datu Sabah web: www.asiapalmoil.com email: my@asiaﬁreworks.com

T H A I L A N D

2015

PALMEX Thailand 2015 date: 20th-21st August 2015 venue: CO-OP Exhibition Centre, Surat Thani, Thailand web: www.thaipalmoil.com email: umpika@asiaﬁreworks.com / thai@asiaﬁreworks.com

Palm Oil Sarawak 2015 date: 4th-5th September 2015 venue: Miri Indoor Stadium, Sarawak, Malaysia web: www.palmoilsarawak.com email: my@asiaﬁreworks.com

PALMEX Indonesia 2015 date: 3rd - 5th November 2015 venue: Santika Premiere Dyandra, Hotel & Convention, Medan Indonesia web: www.palmoilexpo.com email: info@asiaﬁreworks.com

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ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | April-June 2015

Asia Palm Oil Magazine Vol 4 No 1

Articles inside

EVENT HIGHLIGHT

Indonesia Palm Oil Battle Pits Farmers Against Big Plantations - TRFN

COVER STORY

Procurement Corner

Alfa Laval D3 PRO

First Locally Assembled Shinko Steam Turbine Launched In Malaysia

GREEN SOLUTION

Use Of Nanohybrid Biocomposite Reduces Cost Of Building Fish Cages

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

European Refinery Plans Threaten Biofuel Glut