Breakthrough for Small Palm Oil Growers

Hundreds of small-scale palm oil farmers in Indonesia have won the right to export their crop with certification from a global sustainability body, boosting their chances of raising profits and incomes, an industry umbrella group said last week.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an umbrella organization for growers, traders and environmental campaigners said 2,700 independent farmers received the approval making them the world’s single largest group ever to be certified.

“The ability to produce sustainable [palm oil] not only will improve our livelihood but also helps link us to the global sustainable market,” said Amin Rohmad, one of the independent smallholders based in the province of South Sumatra.

Despite producing less oil per hectare than larger multinational firms, smallholders account for about 40 percent of the world’s palm oil output, the RSPO said. often been too costly and complex for them to navigate, campaigners say, with the sector coming under fire for its impact on land rights and the environment.

The world’s biggest palm oil producing countries, Indonesia and Malaysia, have been pressured to address environmental concerns as “slash and burn” forest fires cause parts of Southeast Asia to become shrouded in haze every year.

Palm oil, used in everything from chocolate to cosmetics, has become one of the world’s fastest expanding crops. But pressure over deforestation and methods used to clear land has driven many buyers ‒ and consumers ‒ to demand certification of environmentally sound behavior.

The RSPO has in turn stepped up pressure on the biggest growers, with some accused of illegally planting the crop on protected areas.

In April it withdrew Malaysian plantation giant IOI’s “sustainability certification” after allegations the company had illegally chopped down rainforests in Indonesia and planted palm crops on peat land.

But earlier this month, it said IOI, one of the world’s leading palm producers and traders, had satisfied conditions for the suspension to be lifted, a move that has sparked sharp criticism from environmental groups.

The consortium of 2,700 newly certified Indonesian smallholders won the status in June this year with support from Wilmar, a Singaporebased agribusiness firm specializing in palm oil, an RSPO spokesperson said.

“It is crucial for companies, NGOs and governments [to] continue promoting smallholder inclusiveness and capacity building, so that they can achieve RSPO certification,” said Julia Majail, smallholder program manager at RSPO.

To date the RSPO has helped more than 100,000 individual smallholders gain certification and helped to forge partnerships between smallholders, NGOs and the private sector, the industry body said in a statement.

Source : Thomson Reuters Foundation

OILS & FATS INTERNATIONAL

CONGRESS (OFIC) 2016

OFIC 2016 has a number of attractions to Traders and Members of the Oils and Fats Industries including the Malaysian and Indonesian Palm Oil Industries. The Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, YB Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong will officiate the event with a keynote address, later supported by a senior officer of MITI and Mr Dorab Mistry, an eminent and established speaker on oils & fats trade.

Other aspects of the Economic and Price Outlook cover the Indian scenario and Indonesian scenario. The Module of Trade Policy and Politics includes “Trade Challenges & Opportunities for Malaysian Palm Oil” by MITI (Ministry of International Trade & Industry) and Biodiesel Trade Policy.

Further, participants have the opportunity to network with 13 world leaders in oils and fats trades from the following countries:- • USA • Korea • France • Latin America • Canada • Germany • Australia • Egypt • China • India • Czechoslovakia • Argentina

For those who want to be updated on advances in science and technology have the privilege to meet the speakers from the University of Cambridge United Kingdom, Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA, China, University Science Malaysia. These are only some of the highlights.

You are invited to register immediately for this International Congress with the theme “Global Trends in Oils & Fats: Pathways to 2025” organised by MOSTA in collaboration with ISF (International Society for Fat Research) and MPOB (Malaysian Palm Oil Board).

Don’t miss this golden opportunity!

With ward regards

Academician Emeritus Prof Tan Sri Datuk Dr Augustine S H Ong President, MOSTA Chairperson , OFIC 2016 Organising Committee

REGISTER NOW

WASTE TO ENERGY AND BIOGAS THAILAND FORUM 2016

24-25 NOVEMBER 2016 | EASTIN GRAND HOTEL, SATHORN BANGKOK, THAILAND

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