Asia Palm Oil Magazine Vol 5 No 4

Vol. 5 No. 4, Jan - Mar 2017

Pacific Oleochemicals Plant : Courtesy of JJ-Lurgi

PALM OIL ON THE GLOBAL STAGE

CELEBRATING

COMMERCIAL

PLANTING YEARS OF

I N M A L AY S I A

AQUAECO LAUNCHES PALM OIL ‘GREEN TECH’ SYSTEM COVER STORY Interview with DR. AHMAD KUSHAIRI DIN New Director General of Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) PP18791/04/2016 (034458)

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FILTRATE TEST RESULTS : Type of Test

Results

Test Methods

POME

Filtrate

APHA 4500-H B

4.73@25.6°C

4.69@25.6°C

DL-LAB-TM01 (based on MN Method 8-22)

48.100

13.410

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DL-LAB-TM02 (based on MN Method 0-26; 0-28; 0-29)

78.000

19.500

COD 75% Reduction

Ammonial Nitrogen (NH3-N), mg/L

DL-LAB-TM03 (based on MN Method 1-05)

70

12

Total Nitrogen, mg/L

DL-LAB-TM04 (based on MN Method 0-88)

590

28

Oil and Grease, mg/L

DOE (M) Reference Method

13.812

3

Oil is almost non-detectable

Suspended Solids, mg/L

DOE (M) Reference Method

24.600

31

99.90% of Suspended Solids removed

APHA 2540 B

49.750

20.760

pH VALUE Biochemical Oxygen Demand (3 Days @ 30°C), mg/L Chemical Oxygen Demand, mg/L

Total Solids, mg/L

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Wet Scrubber • The dust laden flue gas flow through swirl vane plane causing the gas to swirl upward inside the cylindrical compartment.

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PUBLISHER FBI Publications (M) Sdn Bhd GENERAL MANAGER Charlyne Lee charlyne@fireworksbi.com PUBLICATION MANAGER Vanny Lim my@fireworksbi.com

EDITOR’S MESSAGE

Happy New Year. It’s 2017. I’m grateful to be with all of you again for the 6th year now. Running this publication has been one of the most enjoyable experiences in my life, and I thank all of you readers, subscribers, contributors and of course advertisers for making that possible.

MARKETING COMMUNICATION Nur Izyan binti Dzulkifli izyandzul@fireworksbi.com CREATIVE Diong Wai Kit

2017 is a significant year for Malaysia palm oil as it is the 100th years of cultivation and commercial planting. During this spectacular journey from its humble beginnings to its current position as the world’s second largest producer of palm oil, Malaysian palm oil has transformed from an agricultural commodity into a well-diversified industry that is good for the economy for its people.

EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS Kenny Yong BOARD OF DIRECTORS Kenny Yong Susan Tricia Mervyn Yong CONTRIBUTORS • Felda Palm Industries Sdn Bhd • Mastech City Engineering (M) Sdn Bhd • Dato Leong Kin Mun, President of Malaysia Biomass Industries Confederation (MBIC) FBI Publications (M) Sdn Bhd (1168942-P) W505, West Wing, Metropolitan Square, No.2 Jalan PJU 8/1, Damansara Perdana, 47820 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Tel: (+603) 7493 5947 Fax: (+603) 7493 5977 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

Take a look at this edition’s Cover Story, featuring interview with Dr Ahmad Kushairi bin Din, the new Director General of Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB) to find out what are the new strategies to improvise MPOB. This edition, for In The Hot Seat column, we speak to Tony Favello, Director of Orion Biosains Sdn Bhd who shares about molecular precision agriculture, where DNA test service to identify the traits of plants. The test services include: SHELL, KARMA and VIR. We hope you find this edition a rewarding read.

Thank you.

Editor, Charlyne Lee

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ANNOUNCEMENT Asia Palm Oil Magazine is now published by FBI Publications (M) Sdn Bhd. The last company Fireworks Business Information (M) Sdn Bhd is already inactive and no longer represents Asia Palm Oil Magazine or is affiliated to Fireworks Trade Media Group in any manner.

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CONTENTS

CONTENTS

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62

CONTENTS ORGANIZATION NEWS

SPECIAL INSIGHT 36 Success Attracts Brickbats

10

GREEN SOLUTION 40 Leong : Innovative Financing Solutions For Green Projects 42 Aquaeco Launches Palm Oil ‘Green Tech’ System

08 Issues With The RSPO

46 Felda Palm Industries Sdn Bhd Committed Towards Renewable

INDUSTRY NEWS

36

10 Palm Oil On The Global Stage 12 FGV To Unveil New Game Plan

16 Palm Oil Industry Indonesia: New Industrial Estate In Berau

TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCT NEWS

14

50 1-Solution

THE PLANTER’S CORNER

18 Palm Oil Boom: Companies Must Clean Up Their Act In Africa

52 Life On A Palm Oil Estate: How Do You Care For The Welfare Of Hundreds Of Workers?

20 JCB Southeast Asia Appoints DKSH As New Thailand Partner 22 Palm Growers Tout New Business Opportunity At Colombia Trade Fair

REFINERY NEWS 24 Mah Calls On Palm Oil Players To Take Up Grants To Move Downstream

50 20

26 Interview with Dr. Ahmad Kushairi bin Din New Director-General of Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB)

MYR700,000 funding from Malaysian government agency MDEC supports development and commercialization of Quarto

60 Oil Palm Smallholders Urged To Adopt Integrated Farming

EVENT HIGHLIGHT 64 Palmex Latin America 2016 66 A Successful Oils And Fats International Congress (OFIC) 2016 Focusing On Global Trends In Oils & Fats: Pathways To 2025

30 Procurement Corner

FBI IN ACTION

IN THE HOT SEAT

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

58 Lintramax Launches Quarto Cloud-Based Plantation Management System For Palm Oil Plantation Businesses In Malaysia

62 Organic Fertilizer Used To Combat Forest Fires In Riau

32

COVER STORY

32 Interview with Mr. Tony Favello, Director of Orion Biosains Sdn Bhd

48 Unbelievably Delish Ways To Fight Diabetes 49 Palm Wood As An Alternative To Existing Timbers In The Market

14 Yee Lee Eyes Opportunities After Oil Subsidy Removal

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

DID YOU KNOW ?

70 Palmex Indonesia 2016

26

70

72 International Biomass Conference Malaysia Connecting To The Global Biomass Ecosystem

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

8

ORGANIZATION NEWS

ISSUES WITH THE RSPO When RSPO members go against the movement’s objectives.

At the fifth The Star Roundtable on Palm Oil recently, industry captains – IOI Corporation Bhd CEO Datuk Lee Yeow Chor, Malaysian Palm Oil Council CEO Tan Sri Dr Yusof Basiron, United Plantations Bhd vice chairman and chief executive director Datuk Carl Bek-Nielsen, Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd group president and CEO Datuk Zakaria Arshad, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd CEO Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian and Sarawak Oil Palms Bhd group CEO Paul Wong – discussed RSPO and MSPO certification and standards.

THERE has been some level of uneasiness within the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil over issues such as its own members using the “no palm oil” label on their products. Datuk Carl Bek-Nielsen (pic), as co-chair of the RSPO board of governors, spoke out on this in Bangkok last month. How can we resolve the situation?

Bek-Nielsen: Over the last 15 years, the issues concerning global warming have intensified. In some countries, it has become rather extreme and ignores the plight of less developed nations which see issues such as food security and poverty alleviation superseding that of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Some regions, like in Europe, are adamant that we need to do something about global warming, and because of this there are many ramifications, not just for industries, but in the end how we choose to live our lives.

For us out here in the developing world, it is very much like walking past a restaurant where the rich world is having an eight-course dinner. These richer nations have reached developed status and their bellies are full. They then invite us in for a cup of tea, and when we join them, they say we must now split the bill equally. We have got to try and balance the picture without going overboard.

In that sense the RSPO has a vital role to play through engagement with a multi-stakeholder process and where one accepts that there are balances

which need to be struck without losing sight of the target when it comes to producing palm oil in a sustainable manner.

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In this connection I see four big problems with the RSPO. First, we are neglecting the importance of the smallholders. I spoke out about this recently in Bangkok. The RSPO is setting the ceiling too high for the smallholders to cling on to. We cannot ignore that we have a huge segment of society which is dependent on the oil palm, a vast majority of which are smallholders.

To many of them the aspirations of the RSPO are simply too high to reach and if this is not properly addressed, the RSPO could face a Brexit moment as a large segment of the smallholders may just say “enough is enough”.

The second problem is related to the uptake of sustainable oil. How can we have a situation where only 50% of sustainable palm oil is taken up?

Believe me, many growers have taken a leap of faith, they have voluntarily joined the RSPO and fulfilled the criteria of producing sustainable palm oil. It is now time for the other members to live up to their part of the equation so that much more attention is directed to driving up demand for RSPO-certified palm oil so the imbalance between supply and demand can be harmonised.

Thirdly, there is the “no palm oil” labelling issue. On behalf of the growers it is my obligation to state that we cannot accept nor condone the RSPO’s current rules whereby RSPO members themselves are allowed to use the “no palm oil” labelling. The RSPO has 3,080 members today and there are 489 products belonging to RSPO members that officially state “no palm oil”. That is a 16% increase since Jan 1 this year. How can we be members of an organisation that promotes production and uptake of sustainable palm oil and yet it allows its own members to go out there and declare that their

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

products have “no palm oil”. This is an unfortunate example of hypocrisy.

The final issue that we are fighting for is termed as “commensurate effort”.

There must be a level playing field for all members. It is not right that we growers alone are pulled around the circus arena and asked to do backward somersaults.

There must be a commensurate effort for all members. In other words if we push, you push. If we pull, you pull. And if we produce, you should buy or promote the buying. Otherwise, why should growers continuously be requested to produce certified sustainable palm oil when there is only 50% of the produce taken up?

To many of them the aspirations of the RSPO are simply too high to reach and if this is not properly addressed, the RSPO could face a Brexit moment as a large segment of the smallholders may just say “enough is enough”.

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10 INDUSTRY NEWS

INDUSTRY NEWS 11 In addition, oil palm has given opportunities to the local native landowners to better utilise their land in generating income. Many of them are owners of plantations today. The livelihood of the people has tremendously improved. Oil palm has helped substantially in poverty eradication particularly in the rural areas of Sarawak.

»

PALM OIL ON THE GLOBAL STAGE

A

t the fifth The Star Roundtable on Palm Oil held recently at Menara Star in Selangor, industry captains – IOI Corporation Bhd CEO Datuk Lee Yeow Chor, Malaysian Palm Oil Council CEO Tan Sri Dr Yusof Basiron, United Plantations Bhd vice chairman and chief executive director Datuk Carl Bek-Nielsen, Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd group president and CEO Datuk Zakaria Arshad, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd CEO Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian and Sarawak Oil Palms Bhd group CEO Paul Wong – joined in the forum led by The Star’s executive editor Errol Oh. With 2017 marking 100 years of commercial oil palm cultivation in the country, the roundtable assessed the industry and the challenges it faces; market competition; MSPO and RSPO certification and standards; and the road ahead.

From an agricultural commodity, palm oil has transformed into a welldiversified industry.

Next year will mark the 100th year of commercial planting of oil palm in Malaysia. The centennial is a big

landmark, and something we should celebrate. What do you think are the industry’s greatest achievements and contributions thus far, locally and abroad?

Yusof: Over the last 100 years, we have pushed palm oil to become a globally-recognised commodity. In the early years, palm oil was used in the production of soap and in the steel industry in processing, to prevent the rusting of steel plates. In fact, in some countries such as Iran, it was considered inedible oil. Later, when the Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia (Porim) was established in 1979, more intensive research was conducted to study the food potential of palm oil.

Through our investments in research, we were able to characterise and popularise palm oil into what is now recognised as a major source of food oil, cooking oil, raw material for the production of cooking fats, margarine and shortenings. The applications have also further expanded into the oleochemical and biodiesel sectors.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

When I began my career in this industry in 1980, palm oil production in the world was about three million tonnes – 2.5 million tonnes from Malaysia and half a million tonnes from Indonesia.

Today, it is over 60 million tonnes, and all this happened within a span of about 35 years – this is a 20-fold increase. Markets have been developed to consume almost all this oil. Producers also enjoy better prices in addition to the higher volume through global market expansion of palm oil.

Palm oil is a major contributor to global food supply, making up almost 30% of global oils and fats supply of about 220 million tonnes. Today, it is the most dominant oil and its acceptance is global. Almost every country in the world imports or uses the oil due to its competitive pricing and versatility. The world population of seven billion is highly dependent on the availability of affordable palm oil.

I would say this is a major achievement of the industry over the years. It started as an insignificant, unknown commodity, and we have taken it to the global stage. It is now a daily commodity that is meeting the necessities of life and feeding the world population.

Zakaria: I would like to share my

Industry fraternity: The Star Roundtable on Palm Oil 2016 moderator Errol Oh (centre) with industry captains (from left) Paul Wong, Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian, Tan Sri Dr Yusof Basiron, Datuk Lee Yeow Chor, Datuk Carl Bek-Nielsen and Datuk Zakaria Arshad.

views from the perspective of the smallholders, as the son of a Felda settler. I was born in the 1950s in Jelebu. It is a very remote area in Negri Sembilan. My family and I moved to Felda Palong in the 1970s. We came from a poor family and I have nine siblings.

We went there as settlers and from there we developed the land we were given and we improved our livelihood.

There are two things I can share here. First is the role of the local palm oil industry in poverty eradication. They gave us about 12 acres of land and we developed it. Of course in the beginning we struggled, earning very little. In the 1970s we only earned about 75 ringgit per family each month. Today we are much better off.

So to me, one of the major contributions of palm oil is how it has lifted so many families out of poverty.

Secondly, look at how the Government developed the area in Palong and the areas surrounding other Felda settlements.

Palong was a jungle area in the early days, but now during Hari Raya you can see traffic jam there. There are so many cars – each family has two or three cars.

This is a personal experience I can share. One contribution of palm oil to smallholders is poverty eradication and the other is marginal land development.

Lee Oi Hian: From the perspective of consumers, we cannot imagine a world without palm oil.

Palm oil accounts for one-third of the world’s edible oil production. Without palm oil, poverty in the consuming nations would be worse, because the price of consuming oil would probably have to be about 50% higher, and they would have to ration the oil.

The same goes for palm kernel oil. Without palm kernel oil, coconut oil alone cannot meet the increase in demand for oleo chemicals and specialty fats. It will have impact on the lives of the consumers globally. In fact, the effect of palm oil extrapolates itself to benefit not just the poorer countries but also developed economies like the people in the European countries.

Like Datuk Zakaria said, this raw material has benefited so many families, created so many industries and benefited the industrialisation of this nation.

Wong: In Sarawak, oil palm cultivation only started around 50 years ago. In 1968, the Commonwealth Development Corp­oration (UK) took up a joint venture with the Sarawak government to pioneer the development of palm oil in the state. At that time, people in Sarawak were still involved in shifting cultivation.

Today, we have planted 1.4 million hectares of oil palm and produced close to 3.7 million metric tons of palm oil last year. We can see the social and economic transformation of Sarawak people – from relying on shifting cultivation and collecting goods from the jungle, to working in plantations.

With the increase in world population and the rising demand for vegetable oil, just imagine if we didn’t have palm oil. How much more land would need to be cleared to feed the world population?

As oil palm is six to 11 times more productive than other soft oil plants, it contributed much to the reduction of land use for the production of vegetable oil in the world. Therefore, palm oil has contributed much to the environment of the world.

Bek-Nielsen: The palm oil industry has played many roles, not just in terms of providing Malaysia with a key role in supplying the world with a steady source of versatile and healthy yet inexpensive source of oils and fats.

More importantly, this crop has played a very significant role in poverty alleviation, especially among the smallholder fraternity, where hundreds of thousands of families have seen their livelihood improve.

Lee Yeow Chor: Firstly, palm oil has played a major role as an instrument for rural development and poverty eradication. Malaysia was well-known as an agricultural nation, and palm oil and rubber were important commodity crops for the country. But now, we have transformed the palm oil industry from being just an agricultural commodity to a well-diversified industry.

The uses of palm oil today are so diverse – it is not just general food, but also provides nutrition. It is used in nutraceuticals like tocotrienols, Vitamin E and Vitamin A. For oleo-chemicals, it started with fatty acids and soaps, but now we are looking at the production of very specialised forms for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics usage as well.

In that sense, the development of palm oil has been very much in line with how Malaysia has transformed economically.

Source: The Star

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

12 INDUSTRY NEWS

INDUSTRY NEWS 13

FGV TO UNVEIL NEW GAME PLAN

group’s FFB yields, which the CEO has said was improving.

“It is difficult to stop such negative news flow, which the markets have been talking about,” said Zakaria.

“We have denied everything with regard to the steering committee.

However, many investors are still sceptical saying that this suggest the Government is considering a more active role in public-listed FGV,” he added. The baseless report saw FGV share price falling below RM2 now from its high at RM2.50 this year on Sept 22.

well as the top three global player in industrial fats.

» Forward goals: Zakaria says the plan will address measures over the next three years JAKARTA: In a move designed to cope

with the changing sectorial landscape, Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) is expected to unveil its new long-term strategic plan.

I

t will spell out details on the group’s commitment to stay focused in the vegetable oils market, measures to reduce operating cost and the listing of its logistics arm.

According to group president and chief executive officer Datuk Zakaria Arshad, the plan will address measures that FGV needs to take for the next three years for it to reach its 2020 goals and to place the company on an able footing to stay ahead of the competition beyond then.

“The group’s existing strategic plan needs an overhaul to cater to the challenges in the current business and economic environment. It is our longterm strategic plan to ensure FGV stays ahead of the competition even beyond 2020,” he told StarBiz in a recent interview.

To recap, the FGV Global Strategic Blueprint (2012-2020) was first undertaken by a foreign consultant prior to FGV’s listing exercise on June 2012 spearheaded by the late Tan Sri Sabri Ahmad.

It was initially meant to pave the way for FGV to expand its reach in the region through mergers and acquisitions (M&As) to secure the group’s growth prospects.

Sabri’s successor Datuk Mohd Emir Mavani Abdullah streamlined the plan and reorganised the group into its main business clusters namely palm upstream and downstream, sugar, rubber and others.

During the tenure of Emir Mavani, who was first appointed to the board of FGV on Jan 1, 2013 and later made the CEO, FGV completed seven acquisitions costing some RM4bil. FGV’s cash pile which stood at RM5.03bil as at end-2013 came down by half to RM2.5bil as at the end of 2015.

Zakaria who took over the helm of FGV from Emir seven months ago saw

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

Zakaria hoped that when the revised strategic plan is disclosed in full, it would dispel the lingering negative sentiments hovering over the stock that have contributed to FGV’s share price falling below RM2 after its steady climb three months ago.

The reports include speculative

news items of the Government considering the formation of a steering committee above the FGV board, which the company has denied vehemently.

FGV is also persistently associated with a possible acquisition of a stake in Eagle High Plantations from the Rajawali Group, a deal which the company has aborted.

The other area that Zakaria is battling with is issues regarding the

the need for the existing strategic plan to be further defined.

Some of the major changes include the group’s new approach towards M&As either in new oil palm or sugar plantations, focusing on improving the efficiency and productivity of existing estates and mills, replanting programmes and further cost cutting measures by selling off its non-core assets.

“In sugar, we will halt our earlier plan to acquire land for sugar cane planting and continue buying raw sugar supply for our refining activities,” said Zakaria.

He said FGV still intended to list its logistics arm.

FGV will look at increasing its FFB yields to 6 million tonnes by 2020 from 4.1 million tonnes currently.

He also expected the overhauls under the new plan to better position FGV by 2020 and beyond. FGV is poised to be a global leader in palm, top three global player in rubber and sugar as

On Friday, the stock firmed up one sen to settle at RM1.93.

Meanwhile, anticipation is also building up over the release of FGV’s third quarter results expected to be out by the end of the month.

Zakaria had in May expressed confidence that the group’s full-year 2016 financial results will be better compared with last year due to the costcutting measures.

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INDUSTRY NEWS 15

YEE LEE EYES OPPORTUNITIES AFTER OIL SUBSIDY REMOVAL

P

utrajaya’s recent move to remove subsidies for palmbased cooking oil has been seen as a catalyst for Yee Lee Corp Bhd, which produces the “Red Eagle” brand of cooking oil, as the move also removes production quota on existing manufacturers, while giving rise to “more reasonable profit margin”.

The development, while seen as favourable to the group, is not without risks. Yee Lee knows it has to step up efforts to fight for a larger share of the market now, or possibly risk losing its piece of the pie to competitors if it continues to stay quiet.

“This [subsidy removal] gives us opportunities to increase our market share in the cooking oil segment we are in. Previously, there was a quota on how much we could produce, so it didn’t make a huge difference to our market share whether we were aggressive or not,” group chief executive officer Lim Ee Young told The Edge Financial Daily in a recent interview.

The subsidy removal kicked in on Nov 1 - except for the 1kg polybags.

The government had said the move was necessary, after observing that the price of average cooking oil shot up some RM600 per tonne in less than a year to nearly RM3,000 per tonne in November, from between RM2,300 and RM2,600 per tonne last year.

“We will have to fight for it (a bigger market share) now,” said Lim, adding that he expects to see more promotional and marketing campaigns from cooking oil companies next year.

“We have been quiet for some time.

What we will be gaining [from the improved margin] will be reinvested in advertising and marketing,” Lim said. However, he declined to reveal the quantum of improved margin the group is expected to enjoy.

Besides Yee Lee’s Red Eagle, some other main brands of blended cooking oil in the country — usually palm oil blended with groundnut and sesame oil — are Singapore-based Lam Soon Group’s Knife and PPB Group Bhd’s Neptune.

Such blended cooking oil has a unique peanut aroma and is popular among the Chinese, said Lim.

In a note dated Dec 5, the research house noted that Red Bull helped boost Yee Lee’s trading pre-tax margin from 1.3% in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2015 (3QFY15) to 1.9% in 4QFY15 and 2.6%, on average, for the nine months ended Sept 30, 2016 while trading revenue grew an outsized 49% year-on-year.

Knife is the No 1 top-selling cooking oil brand in both Malaysia and Singapore, while Red Eagle, a brand that is over 40 years old, has been No 2 for some years in Malaysia due to the production quota and the price restriction. “[Now] we have the chance to overtake [Knife]. At the same time, if we are not vigilant, we may be overtaken,” said Lim. The group’s cooking oil business is parked under its manufacturing division where it also produces aerosol cans and bulk oils and palm kernel.

UOB Kay Hian analyst Yeoh Bit Kun, who tracks the company, viewed the rationalisation plan on cooking oil subsidies as a positive development for Yee Lee. “Based on Yee Lee’s self-determined retail selling price, which sees its product prices increase by 47% to 61%, we assess that there could be a meaningful earnings increase in 2017 as the quantum of increment is more than sufficient to cover the subsidy amount provided by the government previously,” he wrote in a note dated Nov 25.

“Moving into 2017, we assess that the floating cooking oil prices since early this month (November) will have a positive earnings impact on Yee Lee,” Yeoh added.

The analyst said Yee Lee’s mill and refinery division, which was not profitable in the past as the subsidy scheme had not been revised since its implementation in 1997, would also benefit.

“Yee Lee had to absorb the increase in production and packaging cost over the years. The mill and refinery division incurred losses in four out of six years in 2010 to 2015, with 2014/2015 recording losses of RM700,000/RM1.4

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

In 2015, local research house InsiderAsia pointed out that the company derived about 70% of sales from trading and the remaining 30% from manufacturing. However, manufacturing contributed about two-thirds of operating profit while the lower-margin trading arm accounted for the remaining 34%.

It was previously reported that Yee Lee will continue to enhance its sales channel and logistics performance, as it plans to bring in more beverage distributorship after bringing Red Bull and Suntory beverages on board. million, respectively,” he noted.

Firm plans to expand warehouse, distribution network As for the group’s trading and distribution business, Lim said Yee Lee will be building a central warehouse and expanding its network in East Malaysia.

But Lim downplayed the group’s ambitions. “Our hands are quite full for the moment. Our main focus now is to make sure we do a good job,” Lim said when asked if Yee Lee was eyeing more distributorships.

Under the current contract, it will exclusively distribute Red Bull for five years from Aug 1, 2015, which will be automatically renewed for a period of two years thereafter, unless terminated by either party.

Yet to be recognised as a quality growth stock Meanwhile, some analysts have opined that it is not easy to give a fair valuation to the company, as it has two core businesses, trading and manufacturing, besides its stake in Spritzer. At its closing price of RM2.45 last Friday, Spritzer has a market capitalisation of RM439.6 million.

InsiderAsia also pointed out that the complexity of Yee Lee’s business model and low-profile management make it difficult for investors and analysts to value its shares.

Lim, who is also the son of major shareholder cum executive chairman Datuk Lim Kok Cheong, said restructuring Yee Lee’s businesses is not on the cards right now, though he does not rule out the possibility.

“We don’t rule out the possibility, when opportunity arises and we need to raise funds or unlock value, but not at the moment,” he said.

The low-profile stock has been trading at a single-digit price-earnings ratio (PER) for most of the past 10 years. As of its closing price of RM2.33 last Friday, it is trading at a trailing PER of just 9.9 times.

“Although its share price has surged 70% in the past two years, we believe the market has yet to fully recognise Yee Lee as a quality growth stock,” the research house noted.

Yee Lee’s market capitalisation now stands at RM439.5 million.

InsiderAsia has a “buy” call on the stock as it opined its current valuations are “unjustified against the positive growth prospects — underpinned by more distributorships of fast-moving consumer products, a turnaround in its palm oil refinery and mill, and maiden contribution from its recently planted palm oil land by 2018/2019”.

Source: The Edge

This came after Yee Lee secured the distribution rights of Japanese soft drink brand Suntory beverage for three years in Peninsular Malaysia in September, under which it will distribute Ribena and Lucozade beverages, a year after it took over Red Bull’s exclusive distributorship here from Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd last year.

“It (the warehouse and network expansion plan) is still at a preliminary stage. We have yet to identify the location for the central warehouse,” Lim said, but didn’t elaborate on the capital expenditure.

Yee Lee, which is also present in East Malaysia, is also looking to upgrade and automate its warehouse there.

Although distribution margins are said to be “razor-thin”, building and expanding Yee Lee’s distribution network will benefit its manufacturing business, as well as Spritzer Bhd’s bottled water business, in which the Ipoh-based group has a 31.33% stake. Naturally, Yee Lee also distributes Spritzer and Cactus brands of bottled water.

Hunting line Chan: +6012 - 388 7929 (chansk@glt.my) January - March 2017- |200 ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE Raymond: +6017 2779 (raymond@glt.my)

16 INTERNATIONAL NEWS

PALM OIL INDUSTRY INDONESIA: NEW INDUSTRIAL ESTATE IN BERAU

I

ndonesia’s Industry Ministry selected the industrial estate in Berau (East Kalimantan) as the center for the downstream palm oil industry in Kalimantan.

Furthermore, Panggah Susanto, the Industry Ministry’s Director General for Agriculture industry, said the government proposes to select Berau as one of the palm oil centers within the Palm Oil Green Economic Zone (POGEZ) scheme. Berau is chosen to replace Bontang because the former has 3,400 hectares of (clear and clean) industrial land available, while land in Bontang still falls under “protected forest” status.

oil palm smallholders (in some respects it resembles the role of OPEC in the oil sector).

Both Indonesia and Malaysia will provide fiscal incentives to boost industrialization within the POGEZ scheme. The palm oil industrial zones will mainly be developed through partnerships with both state-owned enterprises and private companies.

Downstream products that are produced through the POGEZ program should meet sustainability standards so

EDIBLE OIL REFINING

FATS MODIFICATION

OILSEED EXTRACTION

OLEOCHEMICALS

Source: Indonesia Investment

Indonesia’s Reference Crude Palm Oil Price In 2016: 2015 Price (in USD/ton)

2016 Price (in USD/ton)

February

678.5

628.9

March

662.0

618.8

April

654.6

713.1

May

653.2

703.1

June

665.0

689.5

July

630.6

658.0

August

593.3

734.8

September

526.9

768.6 722.0

Moreover, Berau is also selected because existing infrastructure is adequate. There is a power plant (2x63 MW), a water treatment plant (3,700m3 capacity) and a harbor that is currently primarily used for pulp and paper shipments of Kertas Nusantara. Berau is also envisaged to become the local center for oil and coal.

Month

Earlier, the Indonesian government announced that it was preparing three palm oil industrial zones - within the Palm Oil Green Economic Zone (POGEZ) scheme - in a bid to strengthen the downstream industry of Indonesia, the world’s biggest palm oil producer and exporter. These estates will produce a number of palm oil products, including biodiesel, olein and palm stearin (used for cooking oil, margarine and shortening).

This POGEZ is part of the deal that was made between Indonesia and Malaysia in 2015. Both nations, together good for about 85 percent of the world’s total crude palm oil (CPO) supply, agreed to the establishment of an intergovernmental palm oil council last year called the Council of Palm Oil Producer Countries (CPOPC). This new institution aims to control the global CPO supply, stabilize prices, promote sustainable practices in the palm oil industry, and to enhance the welfare of

it can be sold at premium prices. This would also imply that the products can be shipped to various nations worldwide (due to environmental issues it has become increasingly difficult to export palm oil products to Singapore and the European Union). Developing the downstream palm oil industry is also important to boost Indonesia’s exports. Up to the present the nation heavily relies on raw natural resources for its export performance.

“The Technology For The Oils & Fats Industry”

January

669.4

October

578.2

November

552.2

December

560.2

557.2

Source: Gapki

Indonesian Palm Oil Production and Export Statistics: 2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Production (million tons)

19.2

19.4

21.8

23.5

26.5

30.0

31.5

32.5

30.0¹

Export (million tons)

15.1

17.1

17.1

17.6

18.2

22.4

21.7

26.4

22.5¹

Export (in USD billion)

15.6

10.0

16.4

20.2

21.6

20.6

21.1

18.6

16.0¹

¹ indicates forecast Sources: Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (Gapki) & Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

Biodiesel Plant OLEOCHEMICALS - BIODIESEL - OILSEED EXTRACTION - EDIBLE OILS REFINING - FATS MODIFICATION JJ-LURGI ENGINEERING SDN. BHD. Lot 16, Jalan 51A/225, 46100 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Tel: +603 7861 6188 Fax: +603 7861 6199 Email: jj-lurgi_enquiry@jjsea.com www.jj-lurgi.com

18 INTERNATIONAL NEWS

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 19

PALM OIL BOOM: COMPANIES MUST CLEAN UP THEIR ACT IN AFRICA

»

T

A palm oil worker in Riau province in Indonesia’s Sumatra island. Indonesia is the world’s biggest producer of palm oil.

Photograph: Adek Berry/AFP/ Getty Images

he palm oil industry is one of the world’s biggest, projected to be worth $88bn (£70bn) by 2022. While it has pumped billions into the local economies of countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, the aggressive expansion of the industry has also become synonymous with widespread environmental and community destruction.

With global demand increasing, Africa has become the new frontier of industrial palm oil production. As much as 22m hectares (54m acres) of land in west and central Africa could be converted to palm plantations over the next five years.

As the industry sets its sights on Africa, how can we ensure the mistakes of the past are not repeated? Is it possible to establish a sustainable palm oil industry that operates in a way that protects environmental and human rights and provides local communities with genuine opportunities?

These questions formed the heart of a seminar discussion, hosted by the Guardian and supported by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), that brought together a panel of experts from civil society and the private sector, chaired by journalist Eliza Anyangwe.

“Investment and expansion in palm oil is growing – and growing fast – in Africa,” said Abraham Baffoe, Africa regional director at Proforest, an environmental rights and responsible sourcing NGO. “If palm is planned and implemented very well then it has the potential to provide jobs and economic development – but if planning and implementation is poor, it has the potential to create deforestation, loss of habitat and loss of livelihood in local communities.”

Last month at the UN climate conference in Marrakesh, ministers from seven African countries pledged to implement sustainable palm oil production, saying that while Africa was open for business, palm oil investment must comply with the principles of sustainability, transparency and the protection of human rights.

»

Can the palm oil industry lift developing rural areas out of poverty without blighting the environment? Photograph: Sia Kambou/AFP/Getty Images

Baffoe acknowledged this as an important and significant step, but raised concerns that the high-level commitments at COP22 are not yet reflected in the way large-scale oil palm plantations are being established in countries such as Liberia and Cameroon.

A new African model?

The agri-industrial model used by many palm oil producers in south-east Asia usually involves companies leasing land from the government. Local people are then asked for their consent and offered development incentives and jobs at the plantations. This, warned Baffoe, was being unhesitatingly replicated in Africa by companies racing to secure concessions without acknowledging the issues it could raise at local community level.

“When land is legally owned by the government, communities still have traditional-use rights and that is a form of ownership,” he said. In Baffoe’s experience, palm oil companies in Africa are striking land deals with the government first, before speaking with local communities. “This is how you get conflict,” he said.

The concept of Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is at the heart of the sustainability agenda for the palm oil industry. The principle – that a community has the right to give or withhold its

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

consent to proposed projects that may affect lands that they customarily own, occupy or use – is now a key doctrine in international law and central to the RSPO’s principles and criteria.

Tom Lomax, a lawyer and human rights coordinator at NGO Forest Peoples Programme, was highly critical of the tactics he had witnessed palm oil companies using to secure the consent of local communities in Liberia. “I could write a book about palm oil companies’ methods for manipulating consent,” he said.

Lomax described examples of palm companies offering local people jobs before they had secured the consent of the whole community. “Division within communities has been pursued by companies to undermine the principle of consent. You can really undermine [the community’s] cohesion, their collectability, their ability to make their own decisions as a whole – and once this has been done, cohesion is almost irreparable.”

What benefits does palm bring?

In response to the assertion by other panelists that palm oil investment brought development and helped lift local people out of poverty, Lomax argued that economic analysis (pdf) had shown that the palm oil industry had contributed very little to the south-east Asian economy.

“What we need is a palm oil industry [in Africa] based on secure land rights – and this is something we don’t currently have,” he said. “We need a palm oil industry based on a mixed economy that will satisfy [local people’s] food needs, their cultural needs and their income needs. Yes it will take investment, but not the extractive kind that treats local land as freely available and local people as cheap labour.”

“It’s very complex. We need to keep an open mind and encourage partnership – and encourage local players especially – to participate in this debate.”

All the panelists agreed that identifying “the community” from which consent was required presented serious challenges: both to those groups looking to protect local people from exploitation and to the palm oil companies seeking approval.

He cited the example of Olam’s palm oil operations in Gabon – where the company has planted almost 50,000 hectares of palm – as evidence that sustainable production can be implemented in Africa. He pointed out that even though the company had leased land from the government of Gabon for 15 years, anyone from the local community who didn’t want the land they were using for farming to be converted to palm could have it excluded from the concession.

“Often, people who are considered a community [by the palm oil companies] are not a community at all,” said Lomax. In places like Liberia, whole administrative districts have been labelled as one coherent community by palm oil companies, he said, when the people in a potential palm oil concession are, in fact, culturally, economically and socially diverse.

Christopher Stewart, head of corporate responsibility and sustainability at Singapore-listed agribusiness Olam International, agreed this presented private sector companies with a complex challenge: “Companies often have to make very difficult decisions and are very pressed internally about how to address these very difficult problems [with consent]. The intermediaries that often operate between themselves and the communities are not necessarily fully trustworthy either.

However, Stewart insisted that the agri-industrial model could still work to the benefit of local communities if sustainable palm oil production remained at the heart of a company’s investment model.

Transforming communities “We have seen an incredible transformation in the communities we have reached out to,” Stewart said, pointing out that when Olam first arrived in one rural community it had malnourished children, people subsisting on bushmeat and no electricity, healthcare or employment opportunities. When Olam offered the local people employment, 95% said yes.

“The town now has a thriving market and Olam is putting $1.6m a month into the local community,” said Stewart. “Whatever problems come with palm oil development, doing it right can be a win-win situation.”

However, Stewart conceded that the company’s self-proclaimed success implementing sustainable frameworks in a country such as Gabon won’t necessarily translate to other countries.

Another panelist, Rachel Barré, sustainable sourcing manager at L’Oréal, said that the company’s experiences in south-east Asia had convinced her of the need for strong leadership from the top of the supply chain. “We rely on these [raw] materials to manufacture our products and we are convinced it can contribute to the whole economy if it is well done and well managed,” she said.

However, Barré acknowledged that as an “upstream” link in the palm oil supply chain, L’Oréal was far removed from the communities affected at plantation level.

With more than 40% of global palm oil production coming from smallholder farmers, could a focus on developing a smallholder model, instead of just rolling out large agri-industrial plantations, work for the expansion of palm oil across Africa?

Not without a lot of investment from the private sector, said Baffoe, who claimed governments were often not willing to provide the necessary support for farmers to participate in the palm oil boom. “Palm oil development has a very significant initial cost and that cost has been a constraint for smallholders, he said. “Civil society must look at how it can support smallholders in meeting the costs of establishing their own plantations.”

Given that average smallholder palm oil yields are significantly lower in Africa than in other palm regions, such as Malaysia or Indonesia, smallholder farmers in Africa will need support from the private sector if they are to see the benefits of palm oil expansion into the continent, said Barré.

“You need to put in the investment and technical assistance so farmers can get their palm to the market at the right price in the right conditions,” she said.

With governments keen to continue granting palm oil companies largescale concessions across Africa, the race to ensure that this is an industry that develops along sustainable guidelines seems far from won.

Source: Guardian

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

Great Plantation Solutions.

20 INTERNATIONAL NEWS

JCB SOUTHEAST ASIA APPOINTS DKSH AS NEW THAILAND PARTNER

»

Left to right: Martin Sommer - JCB District Manager for Thailand; Tom Cornell - Managing Director - JCB Southeast Asia; Hanno Elbraechter - Head Business Unit Technology, DKSH Thailand; Jareuk Meekhanthong - Vice President, Technology, DKSH Thailand.

»

L

eading global construction equipment manufacturer JCB has announced the official appointment of DKSH as its Market Expansion Services provider in Thailand. This new partnership will provide sales, parts and service support for the full line of JCB machines – and consequently assist JCB in expanding its market reach in Thailand.

GPS tracking to determine when a job has been opened or finished at a customer’s site. The tools can also provide location tracking and allow DKSH to calculate their response rate after every case has been closed. This new partnership will also provide a call centre for its customers, which will be available seven days a week for eight hours each day at +66 2301 7200.

DKSH will support JCB in providing unrivalled business solutions across the construction, quarrying, mining, government and agricultural segments in Thailand. The new partnership will carry a wide range of high-quality and robust construction machinery, including Backhoe Loaders, Tracked Excavators, Compact Excavators, Skid Steer Loaders, Telescopic Handlers, Wheel Loading Shovels and Compactors. DKSH will provide world-class solutions to JCB’s Thailand customers, thanks to their unrivalled experience in the construction market, and their demonstrated capabilities in after-sales services and maintenance.

“DKSH has been home in Thailand since 1906, while JCB is already a well-established, reputable brand in the industry. We are delighted to be partnering with them to provide a structured approach in penetrating the promising Thai market. Our in-depth knowledge of the sector and unique About DKSH market insights means that we can DKSH is the leading Market Expansion provide JCB customers with superior Services provider with a focus on products which fit their needs exactly”, Asia. As the term “Market Expansion comments Jareuk Meekhanthong, Vice Services” suggests, DKSH helps other President, Business Unit Technology, companies and brands to grow their DKSH Thailand. business in new or existing markets.

Publicly listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange Tom Cornell, Managing Director since 2012, DKSH is a global company of JCB Southeast Asia, commented headquartered in Zurich. With 770 on the Thai market and this exciting business locations in 36 countries – 740 new partnership: “Thailand is JCB’s of them in Asia – and 28,300 specialized number one market in Southeast Asia staff, DKSH generated net sales of CHF and we are delighted to have DKSH as 10.1 billion in 2015. DKSH was founded our partner for growth. DKSH brings in 1865. With strong Swiss heritage, the along tremendous amount of sales and company has a long tradition of doing service experience in the construction, business in and with Asia and is deeply quarrying and mining segments and rooted in communities and businesses we look forward to working with them across Asia Pacific. closely.”

The new dealership’s chief base will be in Wangnoi, with additional branches in Suratthani, Khon Kaen and Lampang. The collaboration between JCB and DKSH will provide customers with a wide-reaching and extensive customer service package. This includes a range of technologically-focused Service Management Tools, one being

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

C

M

About JCB JCB is the world’s third largest manufacturer of construction equipment. The company has more than 11,000 employees and 22 factories around the world, including 11 in the UK and others in India, China, Brazil and North America. The company makes more than 300 different machines including backhoe loaders, tracked and wheeled excavators, mini and midi excavators, Loadall telescopic handlers, wheeled loading shovels and compaction equipment. www.jcb-singapore.sg/

Y

CM

MY

• Great versatility with front loading shovel and rear excavator.

• Enjoy excellent mobility for all terrain type.

• JCB Dieselmax engine provides great prodictivity with reduced fuel cost.

CY

CMY

K

Cambodia RMA Cambodia +855 2388 3488

Laos RMA Laos +856 21 315 3768

Singapore Wealco Equipment +65 6265 5744

East Timor Hiro Motors +67 0729 1028

Malaysia DM Equipment +603 5192 1933

Taiwan Anjoint & Co. +886 7352 3377

Indonesia (Java, Sulawesi & Papua) +62 23 2930 4046

Papua New Guinea Agmark Machinery +67 5472 6324

Thailand DKSH JCB +66 2639 7000

Indonesia (Kalimantan) Mitra JCB +62 813 5124 9888

Philippines ICON Equipment +63 2556 7576

Vietnam T&C JCB +84 49 8112 2977

Indonesia (Sumatra) Persada JCB +62 812 3075 2345

Excellent all-rounders, JCB backhoe loaders are invaluable in the maintenance of plantation road networks and irrigation systems. On an average plantation, these machines can service at least 5,000 hectares, while 4-wheel drive and 4-wheel steer options translate performance to the roughest of ground conditions. Also ideal for construction work back at the mill, it’s hardly surprising that these flexible tools remain the number one backhoe loader in the world.

Contact our dealers for more information about the JCB Telescopic Handler range.

www.jcb.com

22 INTERNATIONAL NEWS

PALM GROWERS TOUT NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY AT COLOMBIA TRADE FAIR

E

xtracting phytonutrients and vitamins from palm oil represents a lucrative new line of business for Latin America’s palm sector, according to industry experts at the Palmex Latinoamerica 2016 trade fair.

Palm growers and palm-oil producers can make around $50 million a year by processing 20 tons of day of their own stocks of distilled fatty acids, Jose Pedro M. Ferrero, head of development for Spanish chemical engineering company Palmvit, said at the start of the gathering in Barranquilla, which brought together 1,500 people.

“A kilo of Vitamin E from palm rich in tocotrienol – which is an antioxidant between 40 and 60 times more potent than tocopherol, found in soy and sunflower – is selling for $1,000 with a concentration of 95 percent,” he said.

Demand for ProVitamin A derivatives rich in betacarotenes, phytosterols and squalenes is growing at rates of 3.9 percent, 7.2 percent, and 10.2 percent, respectively, Ferrero said, citing figures from Transparency Markets Research, Grand View Research, and Markets and Markets.

The food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries are “avid” for supplements that are 100 percent natural, the executive said.

The Palmvit team who designed facilities that currently supply antioxidants in Europe and North America are now implementing in Latin America a technology for extracting vitamins from palm oil.

Vitamins and other nutrients found in palm oil are used to reduce cholesterol, slow cellular aging, and to

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

improve vision, skin and cardiovascular health.

“These phytonutrients, incorporated in food and beverages, nutritional supplements, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, satisfy a growing demand that generates a global business volume of more than $1.7 billion,” Ferrero said.

The demand is such that “if all of the fatty acids generated by Latin America’s palm industry were processed to obtain vitamins, it would supply only 3.8 percent of the global market,” Palmvit says.

Source: Latin America Herald Tribune

24 REFINERY NEWS

REFINERY NEWS 25

MAH CALLS ON PALM OIL PLAYERS TO TAKE UP GRANTS TO MOVE DOWNSTREAM

“If we want to be a game-changer, and to increase our export value, we have to shift our focus to downstream and end-products.

“This is the strategic shift that we want to see in the industry,” he said.

By moving further downstream, the demand for CPO will also increase, and the entire industry will benefit, he added.

»

Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong(pic) told StarBiz that the grants were aimed at encouraging domestic manufacturing of palm oil-based food and health products as well as chemicals or high-value palm oleo derivatives.

P

UTRAJAYA: To encourage the palm oil industry to move further downstream and add value to their end-products, the government, through the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP), has allocated RM280mil in grants for industry players.

Apart from targeting the big players, the government is also assisting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the industry, with RM50mil of the grants dedicated to this group.

Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong told StarBiz that the grants were aimed at encouraging domestic manufacturing of palm oil-based food and health products as well as chemicals or high-value palm oleo derivatives.

“Under the 11MP, I want industry players to know that there are RM280mil worth of grants for the taking. We want to invite the industry to work together with us, and take up these grants,” he said.

Mah said the bulk of Malaysia’s palm oil output was still being exported in the form of processed palm oil.

In 2015, 68.6% of the country’s palm oil exports were within the upstream and midstream segments, consisting of CPO and processed oil.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

The export value of the crude palm oil was RM12bil and processed oil brought in RM28.2bil.

The downstream sector, while only accounting for 30.1% of total exports, saw oleo-chemicals raking in RM14.9bil and exports for finished products amounting to RM1.7bil.

The Minister noted that the export value for finished products were significantly higher, and stressed that industry players had the potential to earn much more by moving further down the downstream sector.

“We really need to add value to our exports, and that is why we are offering these grants.

Mah said the country’s largest plantation companies had all come onboard the initiative.

“When CPO price is high, upstream segment will generate bulk of profits, but when prices low, planters tend to benefit from downstream segment.

the the are the

“This is because the input costs are lower, and planters will gain from their end products.

“Companies that have strength in upstream as well as downstream will be able to leverage whether the CPO prices are high or low,” he added. Palm oil derivatives are found in various daily products - from toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoos and biodiesel, to food and health items.

In 2015, the export of commodities and commodity products was worth over RM117.16bil, the second largest

segment after electronics. The export of palm oil was valued at RM63.2bil.

which can be used in food and non-food products.

During the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP), the government had committed RM416mil worth of grants for commercialisation projects, while the private sector committed RM2.9bil in investments.

Under the total RM280mil in grants, RM100mil is allocated for the manufacturing of high-value palm oleo derivatives or chemical products, another RM100mil for food and health products, RM30mil for clinical trials and RM50mil for SMEs. On the grants allocated for SMEs under the 11MP, the minister said this was a new addition.

The projects under these grants are in various stages of implementation. Under the segment of the grants allocated for commercialisation projects, clinical trials were implemented across five countries.

The minister cited a project successfully implemented in China, in which students in were given biscuits with palm oil derivatives, making the food item rich in carotene and Vitamin A. He said the programme had resulted in reduced malnutrion among the students and a significant decline in eye diseases.

The project, in collaboration with Lanzhou University in Longxi District, China, was initiated in Dec 2014.

Since the 10MP, the government has emphasised on five product categories for industry players to explore.

The categories are surfactants, which are used in detergents, biolubricants, which are chemicals used in industries and cars, bio-polyols used to produce foams and plastics, as well as agrochemicals and glycerol derivatives,

While SMEs were not expected to produce oleo derivatives, which involves very costly technology, these businesses incorporate these derivatives into their products.

For example, by adding red palm olein into their food product, the business will be able to produce a higher value-added product, and market it as a health food.

Malaysia has nearly one million smallholders involved in commodities, with 568,354 of them in the palm oil industry, and forming 40% of the oil palm land.

For more general information and criteria, log on to www.mpob.gov.my.

For enquiries, write to nkeagrants@ mpob.gov.my.

Source: The Star

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

26 COVER STORY

COVER STORY 27

1

Briefly share with us about yourself as the new Director-General of MPOB?

I started my career with Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia (PORIM) as one of the pioneers. In 1985, I was a research coordinator in Serdang station, where our team focused on research of oil palm breeding and genetics. I had also worked at the Kluang station in Johor as the Head of Station. I spent 1 year in Louisiana State University in United States of America for my PhD studies, as well as for my second Master degree. I returned to MPOB Head Office in 2000, then promoted and became Director of Biological Research Division in 2004. I was also held the position of Deputy of Director General for R&D in 2011 until July 2016 where I was then appointed Director General of MPOB.

2

Interview with

DR. AHMAD KUSHAIRI BIN DIN New Director-General of Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB)

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

What would be your new strategies to improvise MPOB?

such as newspaper, TV or radio, hoping to disseminate the correct messages to the stakeholders, especially to the policy makers and consumers.

Not to forget, we are commemorating the 100 years of oil palm industry in Malaysia this year. There will be a series of activities going on throughout the year to remind the industry and the stakeholders on the contributions of the industry to the country. The first commercial-scale plantation in Malaysia was in 1917 at the Tennamaran Estate in Selangor.

3

Will there be any challenges for you in order to execute your new strategies?

R&D activities require budget and man power. It has been always a challenge to manage the budget.

MPOB funded its R&D programmes via a cess contributed by the industry based on the production of crude palm oil.

MPOB places immense emphasis on R&D and we will continue to remain vigilant on it. The focus would primarily be about Oil Palm breeding, biotechnology, climate change, sustainability and so forth. Pertaining to palm oil the focus would be on new usage including biodiesel, food applications, non-food applications and so forth. R&D is a continuous process and we emphasize on 3 strategies which namely: high income, zero waste and value addition. Through R&D, we aim to increase the productivity and efficiency, at the same time stressing on sustainable development. Currently, we are also looking into international market expansion. Malaysia palm oil is exported to more than 160 countries. MPOB organizes Transfer of Technology (TOT) seminars in June every year, and we transfer an average of 30 new technologies annually of which until today we have attained a record of about 608 technologies developed in total. The average commercialization rate for research institution in Malaysia is 3-5%, but for MPOB it stands at 30%, which is the highest.

This could be due to the constant interaction between MPOB and the industry, through associations such as Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA), Palm Oil Millers Association (POMA), Malaysian Edible Oil Manufacturers Association (MEOMA), Palm Oil Refineries Association of Malaysia (PORAM) etc.

As for man power, of course more skilled manpower will be needed in order to move forward. To solve the problem, we collaborate with various organizations such as local higher learning institutions, plantation companies, centres of excellence such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia, Imperial College and Royal Marsden in UK and so on. Some research projects would also have to be done overseas utilizing their equipment and expertise, and indirectly we could save on the expense of purchasing those expensive equipment.

The Malaysia palm oil industry is constantly under “attacks” from certain parties in Europe since the 1980’s under the pretext of wide ranging issues including environment, deforestation, sustainability and health. For an example in 2013, there was the Nutella Tax introduction in France, where the French Government intended to raise the tax on palm oil.

MPOB had worked with the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Malaysian Embassy in France and our sister organization, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) to resolve the issue. In 2016, the French parliament introduced the Biodiversity Bill, which subsequently would increase the palm oil tax from €300 per tonne in 2017 to €900 per tonne by 2020. One again, we networked with the members of the French Parliament to resolve the problem. Our strategy is to put out the fire before it spreads.

Malaysia government always emphasize on environmental and sustainability issues.

What do you think of Malaysia palm oil sustainability standards today? Is there any room for improvement?

MPOB will continue to strengthen its communications with international parties on all issues such pertaining to the oil palm industry. We are working closely with the media

As mentioned, sustainability issues are another challenge for us. Therefore, we invited policy makers from overseas such as Australia, Europe and so on to visit Malaysia to show them how we develop and produce palm oil in a sustainable manner. The implementation of the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification Scheme in Year 2015 is also our initiative to solve the sustainable issues in Malaysia. In March 2016, we handed over the MSPO scheme to the Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC) to continue promoting MSPO Certification Scheme and to get the recognition from international markets. Definitely, we would have to enhance communication in order to achieve the desirable outcomes.

4

We have been sustainable ever since we started our industry. What we lack is effective communication to the people or to the masses.

Yes, there is still room for improvement for Malaysian palm oil sustainability standards today, where the standards will be revised in every five years. Until today MSPO has already certified plantation companies and smallholders groups with a total oil palm planted area of about 200,000 hectares and we hope this figure will be increased. Basically MSPO covers four parts namely general principles, independent smallholders, organized small holders and plantation and mills. Soon there will be standards for other subsectors which will be developed by MPOCC.

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

28 COVER STORY

COVER STORY 29

8

Last but not the least, would you like to share any personal advice to the palm oil industry players?

We should be bold and resilient towards changes, embrace the new technologies which are having potential to increase industry’s efficiency. Mechanization is a challenge for us, although we have transferred 186 technologies in all fields but the take up rate is very low. This might have happened because of high costing and low efficiency results, which is something that we should review and improve in the future.

Currently there are some well-mechanized technologies such as transport in the oil palm plantation field, fruit picker, harvesting tools and so on. In 2014, we collaborated with Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) to organize an International Competition on Oil Palm Mechanization with the hope to encourage people in producing more innovations to improve the oil palm industry efficiency. Hence, we should work closer with the industry in order to achieve a better mechanization level. purposes. They should go for industrial training as this would enhance their understanding level towards the real situation.

MPOB provides scholarship every year, either for local or overseas studies to encourage the young generation in taking up the biotechnology course or in other fields which are highly demanded by the industry.

»

From the left: Special Officer to Director General of MPOB, Nik Aznizan Nik Ibrahim; Vanny Lim; Director General of MPOB, Dr. Ahmad Kushairi Din; Nur Izyan Dzulkifli; Head of Corporate Coomunications, Mohd Saufi Awang

MPOCC is currently the custodian of the MSPO certification scheme. However, MSPO for smallholders still remains under the purview of MPOB.

5

MPOB receive numerous awards on the technologies and research almost every year.

What is the main reason that leads to such great achievements?

MPOC conducts research and discovers new findings that frequently provide high impact solutions to the industry. Our research also caters to the industry needs which assist them in their business activities and at the same time generating better returns for them. Moreover, we also have adequate funding, resources and man power to carry out these research programmes. In addition we also collaborate with other local or overseas communities as well to carry out certain research projects.

On the awards, we are very selective. We avoid participating in the commercial type awards where one one needs to pay in order to get accolades. In early 2016, we were nominated for the to Prime Minister’s Innovation Award, where we were in the top 6.

6

Last but not the least, let me grab the chance to promote the MPOB grand event, International Palm Oil Congress and Exhibition (PIPOC) 2017, which will be organized on November 2017 at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC).

PIPOC was first established in 1984. It is our flagship congress that organized every 2 years and attended by more than 2000 participants.

Referring to Q5, how do these awards help in the development of Malaysia’s palm oil industry?

Receiving an award is a recognition which will portray a positive image. R&D is always about genuine scientific and

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

commercial feasibility. Today, MPOB is not only recognized in Malaysia but all over the world as well. People will refer to Malaysia or MPOB whenever one talks about palm oil research. We have also received many visitors regularly who are curious to learn more about R&D in palm oil. As MPOB secures the recognitions in the forms of awards and what not, this means our palm oil is also being recognized. The market access for palm oil will be better and this will bring the benefits to the industry players i.e. palm oil producers. In Malaysia, there are about 1 million people who are involved directly in the oil palm industry.

From my understanding, that job opportunity for biotech field in Malaysia is quite limited.

How would MPOB encourage the young generation to take up the course and involve themselves in the field, especially R&D for palm oil industry?

7

Biotech field is expanding nowadays. MPOB has one dedicated division named Advanced Breeding & Biotechnology Centre (ABBC). We have published 3 papers in Nature, a high impact American based scientific journal.

Basically, biotechnology in today is like a blue ocean, there are still a lot more to study about. It can be any living things such as animals, plants or micro-organisms. We support people in terms of executing R&D. Talking about the young generation, it is important for students to conduct their thesis or final year project by understanding the industry needs instead of pure academic

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

30 PROCUREMENT CORNER

PROCUREMENT CORNER 31

PROCUREMENT CORNER AJ OLEO INDUSTRIES SDN BHD Add: Lot 682 & 1066, Mukim Chaah, 85400 Segamat, Johor Tel: +607 926 3866/3851 / +603 2141 9866 Fax: +607 926 3828 / +603 2178 4741 ALAMBUMI PALM OIL MILL SDN BHD Add: Lot 2370-1, 1st Floor, Boulevard Comm. Centre, Jln Pujut- Lutong, 98000 Miri, Sarawak Tel: +6085 721 008 / 429 319 Fax: +6085 438 319 / 721 003 / +6019 834 0139 ASIAN PLANTATIONS MILLING SDN BHD Add: Level 5, Tun Jugah Tower, No. 18, Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, 93100 Kuching, Sarawak Tel: +6085 436 969 (HQ) / 794 502 (Mill) Fax: +6085 432 929 (HQ) / 794 503 (Mill) AUMKAR OIL MILL Add: W.D.T No. 154, 91009 Tawau, Sabah Tel: +6089 853 805 / 853 807 / 853 808 Fax: +6089 853 806 AWAN TIMUR PALM OIL MILL RESOURCES (PERAK) SDN BHD Add: Batu 26, Jalan Taiping, 32700 Beruas, Perak Tel: +605 669 0590 Fax: +605 669 0592 BEAUFORT PALM OIL MILL Add: Lot 5 & 6, Blok 18, Bandar Penampang Baru, 88950 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Tel: +6088 718 111 / +6087 208 249 (Mill) Fax: +6088 719 993 / 087 209 503 (Mill) BERKAT SETIA SDN BHD Add: WDT 514, Lot 9, Taman Tshun Ngen, Batu 5, North Road, 90009 Sandakan, Sabah Tel: +6089 274 488 Fax: +6089 514 520 / 225 111 BINTULU LUMBER DEVELOPMENT Add: Level 3, Wisma Rela Aman, Lot 1301, Block 9, Mcld, Miri Water Front, PO Box 1577, 98008 Miri, Sarawak Tel: +6082 335 311 Fax: +6082 348 311 BOUSTEAD PELITA KANOWIT OIL MILL SDN BHD Add: C/O No. 1, Jalan Sukun 28B/1, 96000 Sibu, Sarawak Tel: +6084 755 355 Fax: 084 755 360

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

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 FOONG LEE SAWIMIYAK SDN BHD Add: 179, Main Road, 31100 Sungai Siput (U), Perak Tel: +605 598 2033 Fax: +605 598 1862 GALASAH P.O.M Add: PO Box 547, 980007 Miri, Sarawak Tel: +6085 436 969 (HQ) / 680 118 (Mill) Fax: +6085 432 929 (HQ) / 680 119 (Mill) JENG HUAT (BAHAU) REALTY SDN BHD Add: Peti Surat 32, 28380 Kemayan, Pahang Tel: +606 454 6933 Fax: +606 454 8699 KKS MALPOM INDUSTRIES SDN BHD Add: 3609, Jalan Changkat, Nibong Tebal 14300, Seberang Prai Selatan, Pulau Pinang Tel: +604 582 4466 Fax: +604 582 5900 K.K.S ADELA Add: 81930 Bandar Penawar, Johor Tel: +607 822 1263 Fax: +607 822 2235 K.K.S BESOUT Add: Kilang Kelapa Sawit Besout, 35600 Sungkai, Perak Tel: +605 431 1781 Fax: +605 431 2808 K.K.S FELCRA NASARUDDIN Add: Km 37, Jalan Tronoh, 32600 Bota, Perak Tel: +605 371 1357 Fax: +605 371 1195 K.K.S BUKIT BESAR Add: Wakil Pos Bukit Besar, 81450 Kulai, Johor Tel: +607 897 7101 Fax: +607 897 8629 K.K.S BUKIT KEPAYANG Add: (K.K.S Bkt. Kepayang), Pejabat Pos Triang, 28300 Triang, Pahang Tel: +609 248 9100 Fax: +609 248 9855

K.K.S BUKIT MENDI Add: Kilang Sawit Bukit Mendi, 28320 Triang, Pahang Tel: +609 245 0435 Fax: +609 245 9932

K.K.S TROLAK Add: Pejabat Pos Sungkai, 35600 Sungkai, Perak Tel: +605 432 3735 / 432 1554 / 432 2969 Fax: +605 432 3735

K.K.S KEMASUL Add: Pejabat Pos Triang, 28300 Triang, Pahang Tel: +609 245 8171 / 245 8108 Fax: +609 245 8168

K.K.S ULU BERNAM Add: C/O Jenderata Estate, 36009 Teluk Intan, Perak Tel: +605 636 6261 Fax: +605 636 6280

K.K.S KERATONG 2 Add: Peti Surat 28, 26900 Bandar Tun Razak, Pahang Tel: +609 453 0076 / 453 0078 Fax: +609 453 0079

K.K.S YEE LEE PALM OIL INDUSTRIES SDN BHD Add: Lot 9399, Bidor Industrial Estate, 35500 Bidor, Perak Tel: +605 434 2888 Fax: +605 434 3910

K.K.S KULAI Add: Wakil Pos Felda Taib Andak, 81000 Kulai, Johor Tel: +607 654 9614 Fax: +607 654 0291 K.K.S LADANG TEREH Add: Karung Berkunci No. 538, 86009 Kluang, Johor Tel: +607 810 4533 Fax: +607 810 6691 K.K.S PALONG COCOA Add: K.b. 504, 85009 Segamat, Johor Tel: +607 937 2231 Fax: +607 937 4269 K.K.S PANTAI REMIS Add: Lot 790, Jalan Ayer Tawar, 32500 Changkat Kruing, Perak Tel: +605 675 1839 Fax: +605 675 1839 K.K.S RAUB SDN BHD Add: Unit 3.03, 3rd floor, Straits Trading Buliding, Leboh Pasar Besar, 50100 Kuala Lumpur Tel: +609 355 2200 Fax: +609 355 3200 K.K.S SUNGAI KERANG DEVELOPMENT SDN BHD Add: Beg Berkunci 23, 32000 Sitiawan, Perak Tel: +605 376 5541 / 42 / 43 Fax: +605 376 5540 K.K.S SEMENCU Add: Peti Surat 63, 81907 Kota Tinggi, Johor.

Tel: +607 895 3541 Fax: +607 895 2633 K.K.S TELOK SENGAT Add: Telok Sengat Palm Oil Mill, P.O.Box No. 513, 81909 Kota Tinggi, Johor Tel: +607 895 5232 Fax: +607 895 5231

KILANG KELAPA SAWIT AIR ITAM SDN BHD Add: Kilang Kelapa Sawit Genting Ayer Item, Batu 54, Jalan Johor, 86100 Ayer Hitam, Johor Tel: +607 763 2711 Fax: +607 763 1998 KILANG KELAPA SAWIT ALAF Add: Karung Berkunci 510, 81900 Kota Tinggi, Johor Tel: +607 897 6561/62 Fax: +607 897 6562 KILANG KELAPA SAWIT BUKIT BUJANG Add: Peti Surat 69, 85007 Segamat, Johor Tel: +607 937 7391/3050/422 Fax: +607 937 3050 KILANG KELAPA SAWIT JERAM PADANG Add: KL-Kepong Berhad, 72100 Bahau, Negeri Sembilan Tel: +606 454 4922 Fax: +606 454 2101 KILANG KELAPA SAWIT PROSPER SDN BHD Add: Bahau Keratong Highway, 72120 Bandar Sri Jempol, Negeri Sembilan Tel: +606 461 1016 / 906 Fax: +606 461 1907 KOK FOH PALM OIL MILL Add: Tkt 8, Wisma Consplant 1, No. 2, Jalan SS 16/4, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor Tel: +606 457 6153 Fax: +606 457 6162 KILANG SAWIT CHINI 02 Add: Bandar Chini 01, 26690 Chini, Pahang Tel: +609 456 9476 Fax: +609 456 9480 UNITED OIL PALM INDUSTRIES SDN BHD Add: 878, Jalan Bandar Baru, Sg. Kecil, 14300 Nibong Tebal, S.P. Selatan, Pualau Pinang.

Tel: +604 593 1121 Fax: +604 593 2218

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

32 IN THE HOT SEAT

IN THE HOT SEAT 33

04

»

SHELL

Interview with

MR. TONY FAVELLO Orion Biosains is a subsidiary of Orion Genomics. Located in United States, Orion Genomics was founded 18 years ago and is focused on being a high level strategic partner for other research organizations by offering guidance and scientific expertise. Their service covers the agricultural industry and human sciences 13 years ago, Orion Genomics started a project with the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), which was to sequence the genome of the oil palm. In year 2013, they published the sequence for the oil palm genome and realized there were traits of oil palm that could be tested to optimize the production of oil palm. Thus, Orion Biosains was founded in Malaysia to commercialize the joint discoveries of MPOB and Orion Genomics, to provide technical expertise, flexible business solutions and strategic partnerships to oil palm seed producers and growers.

B) Interview questions :

01

Share with us your background prior to joining Orion Biosains Sdn. Bhd.?

I pursued my degree in Molecular Biology from Washington University in St. Louis. I started my first job

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

working in a research lab which involved human genome projects for about 10 years. Then I changed from - academia to work for the commercial field, first by joining Sigma as a marketing manager for 7 years and then Applied Biosystems for another 7 years. I also spent 2 years stationed in Brazil, as the marketing manager for Latin America. It was upon my return to the United States that I received a recommendation from some friends to become the Operations Manager of Orion Biosains. I believe my vast experience in the biotechnology field on an international scale was the main reason for the recommendation for the job.

02

Could you explain briefly the range of products and services provided by Orion Biosains?

Basically it is about molecular precision agriculture, where we use DNA tests to identify the best traits of plants. Our testing service includes the SureSawit™ Sample Collection Kit. The SureSawit Sample Collection Kit enables easy and traceable collection of oil palm leaves for downstream processing. Leaf punch and tree tag are used for sample collection and tree labelling. The punch and tag contain the same barcodes for accurate tracking of leaf sample to tree.

To determine type of oil palm fruit form, which are tenera (the desired type), dura and pisifera, for the seedling, nursery palm or field planted palm. It helps to improve oil yields and sustainability by selectively screening palms for the desired type of oil palm fruit form before planting.

KARMA

Mainly for clonal palm, to determine if it is normal or abnormal, to ensure only high performing palms are cultivated. Planting of high performing clonal palm has the potential to produce 20%-30% more oil on the same planted area of normal palm.

VIR

To provide more drastic color change between ripe and unripe palm fruits. The test will enable differentiation of virescens ( from green to orange color when the fruit is ripe) and nigrescens (from red to dark purple color when the fruit is ripe) to allow for selection of desired future fruit color (virescens) at the seedling or nursery stage.

This will improve harvesting accuracy and thus increase oil yields.

Director of Orion Biosains Sdn Bhd

A) Organization background and history

Basically it helps in 2 major ways, which are an economic perspective and a social perspective. From the economic perspective, identifying palm fruit type (tenera, dura and pisifera) through the DNA testing service, - enables planters to identify desired trees before planting.

It is a fact that tenera palms tend to produce 30-36% more oil than dura palms. Thus, near 100% tenera planting is possible nowadays. Our collaboration with MPOB has implemented the service broadly in Malaysia which can improve the country’s gross national income by billions of ringgits per annum. This innovation has been identified by BBC as one of the 8 most innovative technologies developed in the world in year 2016.

The IntelliQube® Automated High Throughput Assay robot.

Currently we offer 3 types of test services:

03

Who will be your targeted customers?

Our targeted customers are oil palm seeds providers and palm oil tree growers in South East Asia and we plan to expand globally as well. We have collaboration with MPOB to supply our test services to local oil palm plantations. Some big companies such as FELDA and FECLRA are the example of our clients. We ought to expand this business widely as we believe it is able to help the oil palm planters by increasing the oil yield without impacting labour costs, fertilizer costs and oil palm trees plantation area.

How do these products and services assist palm oil industry development?

From the social perspective, our testing services also help to solve land usage issues - in our country. Planters are able to plant desired palm trees which can gain higher oil yield, without expanding the plantation land area. This helps to reduce deforestation, adhering to Malaysian government practices to maintain and conserve the forest which covers half of the land of the country.

05

Any notable challenge(s) facing by Orion Biosains so far?

Certainly there are a few challenges that we face, before and now. Sometimes people hesitate to change.

It is quite challenging to convince people to adopt a new technology, especially at the very beginning when the test is first established and not well recognized. However, we teach people to look further, to understand the value behind the technology, and help them to accept the idea when their understanding of the product is better. People need time to adapt to new innovations. Currently, we are also collaborating with the government (MPOB) which will ensure every planter is able to receive the most updated information shared by us.

Financial liabilities proved to be another challenge for us as well. Customers can be reluctant to invest in a new technology.

You have to prepare compelling data to convince them to spend their limited budgets. Even with solid data it can sometimes be hard to get customers to invest in something new.

06

Any expansion or development plans for your organization in the next coming 5 years?

Besides the 3 types of testing services that we have discussed, we have 6 more products in development phase and we plan to launch them in the future accordingly.

We are also planning to expand geographically to countries such as Indonesia, South America, and Africa and so on.

However, our research will not just stop here; we are currently in discussion to conduct - research on other tropical plants such as durian, coconut, rubber and so on.

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

34 IN THE HOT SEAT

07

What do you feel about the R&D for Malaysia palm oil industry today?

There are a lot of talented people dedicating their life for research studies, and there is still room for improvement for molecular R&D in Malaysia. Meanwhile, Orion Biosains is willing to help where we are able, to provide support and guidance to the research community, with the hope to achieve growth and development together. We wish to lead the way in the molecular biology field in Malaysia.

08

Know what you are planting NOW

Last but not the least, would you like to share any advice to the palm oil industry players?

We should be open minded, try to be open to the possibility or the changes that molecular precision agriculture can bring to us. There is no harm in understanding and embracing a new innovation, especially when it may create a better outcome to our future.

»

Dura and tenera palms are physically identical, but a tenera palm will yield up to 30% more oil! Now you can identify dura and tenera palms with a simple DNA test as early as the pre-nursery stage. Planting tested palms will impact operating profit, drive sustainability and generate millions of ringgit for the individual plantations and the oil palm industry.

Mr. Tony is briefing about the function of Laser Maker.

1

2

Plant near 100% tenera with SureSawit SHELL testing Experience it now - Orion Biosains Sample Collection Kits & DNA Tests: • SureSawit SHELL - precisely determine the tenera (DxP), dura, and pisifera fruit form of a seedling, nursery palm or field planted palm.

3

4

the left: Chong Kein Len, Lim Meng Hoe, Anthony 1 From Favello, Ng Boon Zean, Ho Carl Miew.

2 Collecting a leaf sample using a leaf punch.

the tree using a tree tag after leaf sample 3 Labeling collection is done.

4 The leaf punches and tree tags.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

• SureSawit VIR - enables early differentiation of virescens from nigrescens fruits, allowing selection for desired future fruit colour.

• SureSawit KARMA - predicts potential abnormalities of clonal palms that could lead to the mantled fruit form.

Innovating Agriculture Through Bioscience Orion Biosains SDN BHD (1067970 - H) Unit E-6-3A, 4th Floor, Block E, SetiaWalk, Persian Wawasan, Pusat Bandar Puchong, 47160 Puchong, Selangor Tel: 03 5879 1711, Fax: 03 5879 1712 www.orionbiosains.com

36 SPECIAL INSIGHT

SPECIAL INSIGHT 37 introduced to Malaya by the British in the late 19th century as ornament plants. The first commercial oil palm cultivation took place in Tennamaran Estate, Selangor, in 1917. Today, Malaysia is the second largest palm oil producer in the world after Indonesia.

Lee Oi Hian: We have to focus on the competitiveness of the industry.

The industry has been slacking a little bit. Yes, we are doing relatively well but we haven’t improved as much as the other competing genetically-modified crops.

SUCCESS ATTRACTS

BRICKBATS

Palm oil as an affordable vegetable oil is targeted by NGOs with an agenda. YOU don’t get to be 100 years old and not have problems along the way. What are the biggest challenges facing the palm oil industry at the moment?

Bek-Nielsen: The world is changing faster than ever, and in tune with a higher level of development we see demands changing. If we look at the last 15 years, there has been a growing change in the mindset of consumers in general, particularly in the West where demands relating to the well-being of the environment has increased.

continue with “business as usual”, then we will inevitably close the door on opportunities.

In the old days, whether it was in the United States, Brazil or parts of Europe, they just looked at forests as something to be converted. But now, when developing countries are starting to do this, it clashes with these changing demands from the consumer base who now insists on stricter standards.

If we do that, then we will be in a position to fulfil what Winston Churchill once said, namely “difficulties mastered are opportunities won.”

So we have two choices: We can either listen, or we can refuse to listen.

However, if we refuse to adapt to the changing circumstances and

It is therefore time for us to take heed of these changes and see how we can still proceed with development, but do this responsibly, thus limiting the impact on the environment.

Yusof: From my perspective, the palm oil industry is already very successful.

The challenges that we are facing reflect our success. If you look at the statistics, we are the highest-growth commodity oil, as compared with

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

the other oils that have been seeing a shrinking market share.

To counter our success, they resort to anti-palm oil campaigns. They come up with emotional “scientific studies” to back their anti-palm oil policy agenda that is pushed to lawmakers. They have designed this as a method to overcome their lack of competitiveness in their own commodities and to protect their own farmers.

European countries are perpetrating the perception that palm oil is linked to deforestation and is destroying the habitat of the orang utan – which is not true. These allegations are not backed by statistics or facts. They are pandering to the NGOs’ “no deforestation” agenda to stop expansion in oil palm cultivation.

It is no longer just an NGO issue today, for these campaigns are now becoming potential legislation.

Any developing country would need to clear land to develop its resources.

For Malaysia, this may not be necessary but what about other developing countries? They have a lot of forests, all non-productive, but they cannot develop these forests to plant oil palm as the NGOs are also demanding that High Carbon Stock (HCS) be included as a trade standard to qualify for market access. Resolutions have been tabled at the European Parliament to ban entry of palm oil from HCS value land .

All these standards are merely tools through which the European environmentalists and protectionist movements are trying to control the capability of developing countries to further develop and compete in their market.

So where do we go from here? If they adopt a no-deforestation policy, the future of the palm oil industry is restricted only to the current planted area.

Lee Yeow Chor: The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) was set up by the Government to promote palm oil, but now its responsibilities have expanded to include fighting anti-palm oil sentiments and campaigns. Yes, the campaigns have elevated from just NGOs aiming to influence consumers, to now influencing the legislators as well as food companies.

There are a few fronts that we can go on to address this issue. Firstly, we must form alliances. We are no

longer alone in this – we have fellow producers throughout the globe. Apart from Indonesia, we have other palm oil producing countries in Africa, South America and Thailand.

We have to form alliances, especially among developing countries, to speak out against this unfair treatment which is hampering our development goals.

The problem is that the developed countries started converting their forests much earlier, and now that they have cleared most of their forests they are saying that we are causing the problem and impacting the environment.

Secondly, to be successful palm oil players today, we don’t just need to be good planters; we must also be good communicators. We have to be very vigilant and savvy in using communication tools to rebut the unfair allegations. Of course, we must be savvy in the use of digital media, and not just the traditional media. MPOC recognises this and has been putting a lot of effort in improving communication on this front.

Growing strong: The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis jacq.) which originates from West Africa was introduced to Malaya by the British in the late 19th century as ornament plants. The first commercial oil palm cultivation took place in Tennamaran Estate, Selangor, in 1917. Today, Malaysia is the second largest palm oil producer in the world after Indonesia. Growing strong: The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis jacq.) which originates from West Africa was

Productivity is key, in terms of yields as well as labour. In this sense, we are on a journey but there’s a long way to go. We have been cruising, without sufficient innovative attempts to really reap the potential yields that our scientists tell us that our planting materials are capable of doing.

I believe that it is our attitude and lack of urgency that is hindering us from achieving much more.

Also, one of the biggest challenges facing the industry at the moment is the critical shortage of foreign workers.

Zakaria: When I took up my position in FGV on April 1 this year, the major challenge that I saw for the company was the old trees. Many of our trees are over 20 years old and are no longer productive. The company and the settlers are facing the same problem.

For the company, we can conduct replanting on 15,000 to 16,000 hectares per year, and this costs us over RM300mil.

However, for the settlers they are facing a problem because replanting requires a lot of money – it will cost them at least RM15,000 per acre. So that is the challenge for them.

Another big challenge I faced when I took over this role was when I wanted to improve the yields of the plantations.

There was a lack of experts in this area.

I found that there was a shortage of people who are really good at this, so I had to bring in the retired experts to help me.

I suppose this is because many young people do not find the plantation

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

38 SPECIAL INSIGHT industry attractive anymore. Probably in terms of the location and salary, and the fact that you do not have the same facilities you can find in a town area.

These are some of the challenges I faced.

One of the biggest challenges facing the industry at the moment is the critical shortage of foreign workers. Can this problem be resolved in the near future?

Wong: From the Sarawak perspective, the shortage of workers at the operational level has become the greatest challenge for the industry today.

Sarawak only produces an average 16 tonnes of fresh fruit bunch per hectare, while more established companies like United Plantations have an average yield of almost 26 tonnes per hectare.

For Sarawak to fully realise its yield potential, it is important that the shortage of workers be addressed urgently. I also noticed that the local smallholders are also facing the same shortage of workers.

Bek-Nielsen: No responsible country will accept a massive influx of guest (foreign) workers and the Malaysian government, no doubt, wants to act responsibly in this issue. It is a balancing act.

Our industry has a relatively small percentage of guest workers when compared to the total number of guest workers seeking employment in Malaysia. I don’t think it is even 15% of the total number of them legally employed in Malaysia. However, the palm oil industry contributes 8% to the country’s GDP and therefore it punches well above its weight.

In addition, the earnings on plantations are good and the companies provide them with free housing, free water, medical and electricity. Which other industry in Malaysia does that?

Malaysia is developing very fast.

Urbanisation is like a huge magnet, pulling a sea of people into the bigger towns. While this is happening now in Malaysia, the same movement has taken place in Western Europe and the US decades ago where a large proportion

of agriculture in these developed countries, especially fruit orchards and vegetable production entities, are heavily dependent on Eastern European or Latino workers.

Without these hard-working individuals, their agricultural production would collapse, similar to what the palm oil industry would be exposed to if we could not legally recruit guest workers from Bangladesh, Indonesia and other parts of the world. This is the reality and we need to appreciate these facts.

It is not that our industry doesn’t want to innovate or move forward.

We all want to try to minimise our dependency on workers, but this takes time and is easier said than done.

Indeed, we need to be more aggressive in our pursuit to minimise our dependency on labour but to think we can come to levels comparable to temperate crops is just not realistic.

However, we must aspire and make concerted efforts to raise the present productivity through increasing the level of mechanisation and innovation.

Targets should be set and with that I am sure that we will live up to the saying that “necessity is the mother of all inventions”.

Lee Oi Hian: Regarding social problems associated with workers, this is minimal in our industry as we are rural-based and the majority of workers are provided with housing in estates with medical services and other facilities. They go to town only once in a while.

Twenty years ago, to get a passport it was an arduous process that took such a long time. Look at it now, it is so well done. The authorities can develop a similarly efficient process of bringing foreign workers into the plantation industry. The current process is so long.

For our industry, when you cannot bring in workers on time, you cannot pass the baton – it is like relay. When we don’t have workers, you lose the crop. Every tonne of crop that we lose, the Government also loses an equal

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

Growing strong: The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis jacq.) which originates from West Africa was introduced to Malaya by the British in the late 19th century as ornament plants. The first commercial oil palm cultivation took place in Tennamaran Estate, Selangor, in 1917. Today, Malaysia is the second largest palm oil producer in the world after Indonesia.

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significant part of their share.

The Government has to develop a system for the plantation industry alone, where they can monitor the number and whereabouts of the worker that we bring in. They need to ensure that we don’t have illegals working in our plantations. There may be some illegal workers among the contractors and smallholders but if we do not improve the system, it will not be resolved.

Bek-Nielsen: I agree, and we would like to appeal for a simplified process without undermining the legality, so that we can expedite the movement in the recruitment and also repatriation of workers.

We must remember that what this industry produces is unlike a concrete block or rubber tyre. This is a perishable fruit and you have a certain expiry date on it. If you fail to bring it down, it is going to rot.

Source: The Star

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T H A I L A N D

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42 GREEN SOLUTION

GREEN SOLUTION 43

LEONG : INNOVATIVE FINANCING SOLUTIONS FOR GREEN PROJECTS

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W

ith the increasing awareness of climate change mitigation effort across the globe, the need for a solid financial support framework for green projects and businesses are of utmost importance. In Malaysia, the commonly known financiers are banks and venture capital companies.

However, emerging financing models include Angel Investors, Equity Crowd Funding, Sukuk/Green Bond as well as IPO. “It is important to know the modus operandi of the financiers”, said Malaysia Biomass Industries Confederation (MBIC) President, Dato’ Leong Kin Mun at the International Biomass Conference Malaysia 2016 held in Kuala Lumpur recently. This Conference was

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Many best practices and customised models can be worked out for viable biomass projects, says Leong.

organized by Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), National Innovation Agency Malaysia (AIM) and Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) with the theme “Connecting to the Global Biomass Ecosystem”. Leong was one of the panelists at the Financial Landscape & Business Modeling: Green Financing – Investors Perspective and Funding Development Trends.

On a separate occasion, Leong, who is also the Chief Executive of Primer Capital Sdn. Bhd., advisory firm specializing in green financing using Multiple Financing Models, was invited to share his insights on green project financing case studies at the recent dialogue on Green Financing Mechanisms for Sustainable

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

Urbanization and Quality Infrastructure Development in APEC Region organized by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Tianjin, China from 3rd to 4th of November, 2016.

He highlighted the green financing landscape in Malaysia, as well as sharing on how to make a green project appealing to financiers.

Prior to approaching any financiers, it is extremely crucial for the business promoter to prepare the necessary financial indicators to meet the expectation of various financiers.

Leong has outlined relevant financial indicators to include in the business plan to convince potential financiers either banker or equity investors. This preparatory step is especially important to green business or project promoters

as the green industry is viewed as moderate to high risk. Therefore, one is advisable to showcase the Predictable Cash Flow Return based on Sensitivity Analysis on different variables and Scenario Analysis based on pessimistic and realistic situation in their business plan. These analyses would give the financier an idea what are their bottomline financially in the context of risk management. One can also include a possible optimistic (bonus situation) in the scenario analysis to show the other flip-side of the coin.

In addition to the above, there are several basic but important financial indicators to showcase such as, Payback Period, Break-Even Analysis and IRR vs Interest. Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is another indicator which shows the potential business growth in terms of dollar and cents, as well as Peers Comparison in term of leadership of market share position and overall market size. Not forgotting greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction is a very significant indicator in the context of tapping green financing subsidized interest rate locally as well as meeting appetite of global green fund.

Additionally, the other relevant evaluation that address explicitly in the fund-raising plan of biomass projects includes security of feedstock, security

Regional Representatives at the APEC Meeting on Green Financing Mechanisms for Sustainable Urbanization and Quality Infrastructure Development in Tianjin, China.

of technology in term of project delivery and biomass conversion, management profile of the promoter highlighting their prior track record and experience, security of systems (warranty from equipment vendor), security of market (buy-back agreement or off-take agreement from the buyer).

Network-Asia (PFAN –Asia) which is a regional program by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) which focus on mobilizing and scaling-up of clean energy projects in developing country members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) including Malaysia.

Leong also shared how to increase commercial viability of biomass projects; the biomass project promoter should possess right conversion proven technologies as technology is always deemed as game-changer to address mass business demand, industrial pollution issues as well as value (wealth) creation, very good IRR more than 15% and favourable framework and enabling environment provided by the Government.

Another noteworthy example is the Malaysian bioplastics technology provider which was funded by the China Investor with RMB1.2 billion in China. A local biomass project with financing more than RM100 million for a 10MW Biomass Power Plant by Maybank Islamic Bank with Corporate Guarantee furnished by a foreign PLC is among other proven financing case.

He also mentioned about Equity Crowd Funding (ECF) for a Malaysian biogas SME which raised RM1 million from various retail investors based on fixincome approach and IPO’s theme.

Other example is a Malaysian biomass SME i.e. Heng Huat Resources Group Bhd successfully raised fund through IPO in the ACE market.

The highlights of his presentation are Global Trends in Green Financing such as the corporate bond by the European Renewable Energy Developer (Etrion Corporation) which operates utility-scale solar power generation plants has raised EURO 80 million with 8% coupon rate. Similarly, Malaysia has also established the financing framework using Sukuk to fund renewable energy project under the principle of sustainable & responsible investment (SRI). Leong also mentioned about the Private Financing Advisory

With this financing intelligence, green entrepreneur will have better preparations to address various fundraising issues and excel themselves in green financing.

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

44 GREEN SOLUTION

GREEN SOLUTION 45 How it Works In a normal Palm Oil mill, the oil extraction process discharges 65% of raw waste sludge which then requires a large number of wastewater treatment (effluent) ponds to clean. Being high in Chemical Oxygen Demand (‘COD’) and Biological Oxygen Demand (‘BOD’), this waste releases high amounts of biogas into the atmosphere; and if not properly treated, this wastewater is toxic to aquatic life when it inadvertently enters into the land’s many waterways.

AquaEco-SRORS system solves the issue of wastewater by intercepting the raw sludge and separates it into water, solids and oil.

“The system uses an innovative, selfcleaning membrane technology to filter out suspended solids and oil - leaving a filtrate for further processing or recovery. The oil is recovered back as crude palm oil, while the suspended solid is removed as decanter cake in the decanting process.

All oil and suspended solids are prevented from entering the treatment ponds. Without the need to break down suspended solids, treatment pond process becomes more efficient, reducing biogas emission by an astonishing 70%,” explains Liew.

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From the left: Mr. Ow Eng Haw, Corporate and Finance of Aqua EcoTech; Raymond Yap, Corporate Advisor; Mr. Max Yeoh, Managing Director of YKL Engineering Sdn Bhd; Mr. Andrew Liew, Director of Aqua EcoTech Sdn Bhd and Mr. Mohamed Shukri Bin Mohamed Zain, Managing Director of Nano Quest (M) Sdn Bhd.

AQUAECO LAUNCHES PALM OIL ‘GREEN TECH’ SYSTEM

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Estimated RM3.8 million Increase in OER Revenue for Millers Malaysian AquaEco-SRORS invention enables:i) Oil Extraction Rate (OER) increase by 0.4– 0.6%, equivalent to RM3.8 mil additional revenue ii) Reduction of bio-gas emission and BOD by a significant 70%

uala Lumpur, 30 November 2016 – Aqua Ecotech Sdn Bhd (‘AquaEco’), today makes its introduction of its revolutionary ‘green tech’ system AquaEcoSRORS, the world’s first proven and commercially viable palm oil raw sludge filtration system.

According to AquaEco’s Director and principal shareholder Andrew Liew, the AquaEco-SRORS system will transform the palm oil industry by allowing millers to address longstanding palm oil waste sludge challenges that have been a major industry problem and costly affair for decades.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

Liew says, “AquaEco-SRORS enables the recovery of up to 80% of the oil in the raw palm oil sludge. This translates to an improvement of 0.4% – 0.6% in Oil Extraction Rate (OER), reduction of bio-gas emission by 70%*, and the output of an oil-free filtrate with no suspended solids – that is discharged into waste water treatment ponds. *Estimated average figure that depends on the mill’s processes

This is a really big deal for palm oil millers as this technology drastically reduces the high Chemical Oxygen

Mr. Ow Eng Haw and Mr. Andrew Liew were showing how green tech system AquaEco-SRORS works.

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Demand (COD) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) in waste water- this uplift the entire state of the industry to be much cleaner and environmentally friendly.”

He explains the significance of the 0.4% – 0.6% OER recovery, “Annually, an average mill which processes around 300,000mt of crop will, with AquaEco-SRORS, be able to recover about 1,462mt oil or 0.5% OER, translating to an incremental revenue of about RM3.8mil*. *Amt depends on palm oil commodity market rate & mill’s raw palm oil yield amt.

Currently the average OER of the Malaysia’s palm oil stands at 20.65%. With AquaEco-SRORS, the entire industry’s production would increase to 21.15 % (with existing palm oil fruit produce). This increase is in line with PEMANDU’s EPP4* that targets to increase the country’s palm oil industry OER rate to 23% by Year 2020. *The EPP4 objective is to increase OER from palm oil fruits to 23% by Year 2020 in order to contribute RM13.7 BILLION in GNI by the same year.

EPP4 is championed by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (‘MPOB’).

]

“Being environmentally friendly AquaEcoSRORS provides an immediate solution for millers to better meet increasingly stringent regulatory requirements. It will help the mills to gain extra points for their Round Table Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Millers can take advantage of the compliance to garner the license to export palm oil to Europe,” he adds.

Directly Supports MPOB’s Vision AquaEco-SRORS fits in with MPOB’s aim of introducing technologies that can enhance the industry, and also to be in line with international regulatory guidelines that have been increasingly stringent over the years.

Liew says, “I am confident of MPOB’s support for a ‘green tech’ such as AquaEco-SRORS for the industry. After all, it is not every day that such an innovative and commercially-viable green technology is made available to market.

From the palm oil community’s point of view, we are aware that MPOB is always looking to help millers meet the DOE’s increasingly stringent legislation to lower sludge output, or at least cleaner discharges by mills.

Innovation such as this, will pave the way for a cleaner and increased commercial returns for the Malaysian palm oil industry.”

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

46 GREEN SOLUTION

We’ve found the perfect spot to grow the future.

The Malaysian Department of Environment, DOE, also aims to reduce the BOD discharge into water by 50% in the near future. At present, the allowed BOD in Peninsular Malaysia stands at 50-100ppm, 50ppm in Sarawak and a higher standard of 20ppm has been established in Sabah. The DOE also has strict guidelines in place; and those found guilty of violating these guidelines have been fined or jailed, with the convicted mill sometimes being shut down for months.

That’s right, the Earth. Our interests in agri-business currently span across more than 10 countries while opportunities for further expansion continue to knock at our door. And keen to keep the planet green, we always take care to innovate and cultivate responsibly.

There are currently about 450 palm oil mills operating across the country; and this green technology offers an immediate solution adhere to international palm oil regulatory requirements – a challenge which local palm oil millers have been grappling with for years.

Committing to a Cleaner and More Responsible Future AquaEco took five (5) years of R&D to develop and fine-tune the AquaEco-SRORS technology into a commercially viable and proven investment for palm oil millers.

47

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Mr. Ow Eng Haw and Mr. Andrew Liew during the Q&A session.

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Mr. Andrew Liew delivered speech during the launching ceremony.

For more info, visit feldaglobal.com

Over the past year, AquaEco has worked closely with MPOB on the technology. AquaEco has already installed the system in two Malaysian palm oil mills -in Sandakan, Sabah and in Bota, Perak. Following their success, the company is currently in talks with a few more mills to install the system. Aqua Ecotech has appointed Integrated Green Engineering, MillGreen Technology, Nano Quest and YKL Engineering as distributors for the AquaEcoSRORS.

About Aqua Ecotech Sdn Bhd (‘AquaEco’) AquaEco started the R&D for the AquaEco-SRORS in 2011, and this palm oil raw sludge filtration system has been patented in Malaysia, as well as internationally. This revolutionary ‘green tech’ system is also the first commercially viable and proven palm oil raw sludge filtration system that is available in the market.

The AquaEco-SRORS system enables recovery of up to 80% of the oil in the raw palm oil sludge – that is an improvement of 0.4% – 0.6% in Oil Extraction Rate (OER); and effectively reduces biogas emission and BOD by 70 percent.

AquaEco’s official distributors include Integrated Green Engineering, YKL Engineering, MillGreen Technology, and Nano Quest.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

feldaglobal.com

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL Incorporated MAGAZINE Ingenuity

48 GREEN SOLUTION

GREEN SOLUTION 49

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Biogas Project

BIOGAS PROJECT

FELDA PALM INDUSTRIES SDN BHD COMMITTED TOWARDS RENEWABLE

BIO-CNG PROJECT

Felda Palm Industries Sdn. Bhd. (FPISB) had begun its renewable energy project from POME based biogas plants since early 2007. Beginning from biogas plant in Serting Hilir Mill, now FPI boasted about 25 biogas projects in FPI mills, preventing harmful emission of methane & harnessing its potential as biofuel. As of now, FPI have the largest numbers of biogas plant installed in the mills. Furthermore, FPI had made history as the first developer of commercial scale palmbased bio-compressed natural gas ( bio-CNG ) in the world.

The bio-CNG plant, located in Kilang Sawit Sg Tengi, processes 600 cubic meter per hour ( m3/hr) of raw biogas generated from the covered lagoon biogas digester to produce Bio-CNG which will be an alternative fuel to the existing fossil fuel-based like the Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Medium Fuel Oil (MFO).

Launched by the Honorable Minister of MPIC, the BioCNG commercial plant of FPISB Kilang Sawit Sg Tengi with the production capacity of 400 m3/hr can produce about 80,000 MMBtu of Bio-CNG a year. This means it has the capability to support the energy requirement of two factories that use about 40,000 MMBtu a year each. The plant has started production on April 2016.

POME ( Palm Oil Mill Effluent ) produced by palm oil processing needs to be treated by stages of waste water treatment as to comply with Department of Environmental regulations. One of the treatment stage is anaerobic digestion, in which POME high in COD (chemical oxygen demand ) loading will be reduced to more than 98%. This stage produces biogas from anaerobic bacteria as well as treated waste water for further treatment. Biogas from POME source consist of 55 – 65 % methane, in which usually will be flared off to reduce its GHG emission footprint, as methane is 21 times more detrimental compared to carbon dioxide. Due to technological maturity & availability, biogas can now be utilised to produce electricity via gas engine or biogas compression for industrial customer.

FGV as sustainable palm oil producer does not only looking at sustainability practices and certification in plantation and mills, but also looking at reducing emission and carbon footprint at larger scale. FGV understand as POME is detrimental to environment due to methane emission, so building biogas plant in mills reflects commitment to protect surrounding environment. Up to now FGV have already install 25 biogas plant out of 70 palm oil mills. In 2015, we have successfully captured total of 72,814 metric tonne of CO2 equivalent of methane emission, believed to be the largest in Malaysia by a single plantation company. We have also ventured into utilization of biogas, strengthening our commitment in developing green, sustainable renewable energy.

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Dry long fibre (DLF) at Panching Plant

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Jengka compost plant

OTHER PROJECT In line of the FGV aspiration towards development of hightechnology plant to generate high income and returns to the company, we also develop Biomass Power Plant, Dried Long Fibre (DLF) and Compost, converting Empty Fruit Bunch as low end mill waste to high value, environmental friendly renewable product.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

50 DID YOU KNOW?

51

UNBELIEVABLY DELISH WAYS TO FIGHT DIABETES

A

s a dietitian, Goo Chui Hoong finds herself constantly trying to incorporate both nutritional value and tasty appeal in the recipes that she devises – after all, a healthy diet only works if it is sustainable.

“It’s important for everyone to eat well – but particularly so for those who have conditions like diabetes,” she said. So the dishes she comes up with must be appealing enough that people will keep incorporating them into their everyday meals.

With the numbers of diabetics in Malaysia rising significantly – the Health Ministry’s National Health and Morbidity Survey 2014 estimates about 3.5 million diabetics nationwide – the time to eat healthily was yesterday, but just start today anyway if you haven’t already.

The two biggest enemies of diabetics are sugar and carbs (which turn into sugar in the body) in the diet which need to be drastically reduced if not totally omitted.

For those who love fried rice, Goo suggests a simple and healthful substitution instead of giving it up altogether – fibre-rich cauliflower instead of carbo-loaded white rice.

Goo uses palm oil to fry the cauliflower rice. “For one thing, palm oil has a neutral sort of unsaturated fat that doesn’t increase your blood cholesterol levels,” she said. “I prefer to use palm oil for frying because it has a high smoke point – and so can withstand high frying temperatures without breaking down and releasing carcinogenic compounds. It’s a very stable oil.”

She also shares a recipe for lean white fish like garoupa or red snapper with mango salsa. “Snapper is low in fat, and when pan-fried or grilled with a bit of palm oil, the skin will crisp up nicely,” said Goo. Finally, diabetics don’t have to give up on dessert entirely. Goo’s recipe for avocado chocolate truffles is low in sugar and carbohydrates, but tastes great anyway!

“The avocado is so creamy that you don’t have to use any actual cream in the recipe, and its flavour so mild that the chocolate comes to the fore,” she said. “Cream is a concern because it contains saturated fats, which can increase your cholesterol levels – and most diabetics also tend to have high cholesterol levels.”

“Palm oil is one of the few oils that can increase your HDL, or ‘good’ cholesterol,” said Goo. “Nonetheless, even when using a ‘good’ type of oil, use it sparingly. For someone on a 2,000-calorie diet, no more than two to

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

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Dietitian Goo Chooi Hoong cooks up recipes that will please diabetics.

three tablespoons of oil for the whole meal.

“Diabetics should look at using fresh ingredients, herbs and spices, which excite the senses and the palate, so that you never feel your food is dull.

It sounds cliched to say eating well is all about moderation – but it really is!”

“For one thing, palm oil has a neutral sort of unsaturated fat that doesn’t increase your blood cholesterol levels,” she said.

Source: Star2.com

PALM WOOD AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO EXISTING TIMBERS IN THE MARKET

D

iscarded oil palm trunks can now be used as an alternative material to replace existing wood as well as to help reduce logging and to preserve the natural forests in the country.

Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) through the Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP) has developed a method to produce high quality compreg oil palm wood efficiently.

“Malaysia has the second largest oil palm plantation in the world with a farm area reaches 5.6 million hectares. We as researchers believe that compreg palm wood has the potential to offer alternatives to other types of timber,” Chief researcher Associate Prof Dr Edi Suhaimi Bakar told reporters after officiating the UPM Innovation Open Day and A

decade of INTROP celebration.

Also present were the Malaysian Timber Industry Board DirectorGeneral Datuk Dr Jalaluddin Harun and INTROP Director Prof Dr Paridah Md Tahir.

Edi said palm wood required an efficient method to increase its strength and durability and a new sixstep method was created and it had improved the compreg wood products quality to be comparable to other wood such as cengal.

Meanwhile, Jalaluddin said compreg palm wood needed to be developed and strengthened first in the national market before it could be exported and it could also be used as an alternative to sawn timber, plywood and other available wood in the market.

“We can ‘mix and match’ such as to include the palm wood in producing plywood so it would be lighter in weight.

“By the year 2034, we are targeting the use of trees from natural forests will be balanced by the usage of trees from plantations such as oil palm and rubber, thus reducing our dependence on natural forest,” said Jalaluddin who was formerly INTROP director.

Source: Bernama

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

52 TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCT NEWS

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TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCT NEWS 53

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Empty Bunch Shredder Sun #3 Model: MC – EBS – 6MT #3

1-SOLUTION

M

ASTECH CITY ENGINEERING (M) SDN. BHD. is a leading machinery and equipment manufacturer specializing in EFB Biomass Fuel Preparation Systems for Power Plants and Palm Oil Milling process machinery and equipment.

We provide “1-SOLUTION” in setting up EFB Biomass Fuel Preparation System for Power Plant and Palm Oil Milling process which include the following: Consultation, Design and Fabrication, Installation and Commissioning, and Excellent and Quality Post-project Maintenance and Services.

We have almost a decade of wealth of experience in serving the Palm Oil Industry, and is very well received by customers in Malaysia and Thailand. With such an impeccable track record and reputation, we constantly attract enquiries from new customers while enjoying the loyalty of existing customers.

We have in exhibited in PALMEX Thailand 2015 & 2016 for 2 consecutive years exemplifying our marketing efforts toward the palm oil industry.

With our in-depth knowledge and expertise of the industry together with our strong technical team, we have the know-how to build and operate modern and efficient EFB Biomass Fuel Preparation System for Power Plant and Palm Oil Milling process.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

to the users because of using lesser number of machines to do the same work and hence required less manpower.

We invest in the latest technology to develop EFB Shredder, EFB Press Machines and others to match the growing demand of the global Palm Oil Industry.

In term of spare parts, we in MASTECH always ensure that the interest of our users are safe guarded, i.e. make sure spare parts are easily availability and we have our own foundry to handle the production of spare parts.

WHY….. In a typical palm oil milling process, Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) is abundantly available as fibrous material of purely biological nature. EFB contains neither chemical nor mineral additives, and depending on proper handling operations, it is free from foreign elements such as gravel, nails, wood residues, waste, etc. However, due to the biological growth and the steam sterilization process at the mill, it is saturated with water. With such high moisture content in EFB, pre-processing is necessary before EFB can be used as biomass fuel.

In terms of performance, the Empty Bunch Shredder will be able to produce shredded EFB of average length of 125mm (5inches) and moisture level of 40%. Our experience has shown that shredded EFB of this quality will improve its burning efficiency in the boilers.

EMPTY BUNCH PRESS SUN #3 This is the machine used to extract press liquor (mixture of oil + excessive water) contained in the Empty Fruit Bunch in order to reduce the moisture content after the process of shredding. From the mixture, the oil and excessive water can be separated.

Nowadays, many palm oil mills will make use of the EFB Fibre for on-site energy demand while making shell and mesocarp fibre available for off-site utilization which can bring in more revenue as compared to burning it on-site.

Field test results have confirmed that the performance of the oil recovery of the machine varies from 0.15% to 0.50% of FFB.

In order to fulfill the demand of using EFB as biomass fuel, we, at MASTECH take the opportunity to develop the most efficient machinery specifically for the purpose.

Spare parts for this machine are also not an issue as we have our own foundry to handle their production.

EMPTY BUNCH SHREDDER SUN #3 This is a compact and heavy duty processing machine specifically designed to handle EFB and can be easily integrated into the process line of existing palm oil mills with minimum modification.

Design wise, our EFB Shredder combines two distinctive steps in processing EFB into a single machine, namely breaking and cutting of EFB. Such design will be beneficial

Empty Bunch Press Sun #3 Model: MC – EBP – 12MT

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Signing ceremony – PPP Green Complex Co., Ltd

MASTECH CITY ENGINEERING (M) SDN. BHD. are confident that we have the technology, the know-how and the expertise in Consulting, Designing, Fabrication and Installation & Commissioning in handling EFB Biomass Fuel Preparation System for Power Plant of various sizes as well as Palm Oil Milling process to match the sizes of the Power Plant.

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

54 THE PLANTER’S CORNER

THE PLANTER’S CORNER 55

» School’s out: Children heading home after a day at their school (seen in the background) on the Jenderata oil palm estate in Perak. Photo: The Star/Ong Soon Hin

LIFE ON A PALM OIL ESTATE: HOW DO YOU CARE FOR THE WELFARE OF HUNDREDS OF WORKERS?

I

t’s a sunny afternoon on the Jenderata oil palm estate just outside Teluk Intan, Perak. I’m being driven around by United Plantations vice chairman and chief executive director Datuk Carl BekNielsen, my tour guide for the day.

We stop outside a row of terraced houses and Bek-Nielsen urges me to take a look at them. These 140sq m houses are accommodations for employees classified as general estate workers, I’m told; some are cheery with potted flowers, and I notice satellite dishes on some roofs and cars parked in some porches.

“We offer free housing to our workers. Also, free piped water, electricity and medical care. For our workers from abroad, like Indo­ nesia or Bangladesh, we strive to have a maximum of two people per room.

That’s what we have on a majority of our estates,” he says, adding that United Plantations Bhd (UP) can house thousands of workers on its estates.

As we walk around, Bek-Nielsen

on this estate, particularly conditions for foreign workers.

makes small talk in fluent Malay – while he is of Danish ancestry, Bek-Nielsen grew up on Jenderata, playing on the estate’s grounds.

He is, in fact, following in the footsteps of his father, the late Tan Sri Borge BekNielsen, a former UP chairman who was known as the “palm oil king”.

Earlier in the year, articles in the British newspaper The Guardian alleged that foreign plantation workers are exploited in South-East Asia and that they have fewer rights than local workers.

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A worker handling one of the furnaces at the

A mustachioed Jenderata Mill. man comes out of a nearby house, “But I don’t like calling them foreign spots the boss and, smiling, salutes like workers. In UP, we refer to them as a soldier – such seems to be the respect guest workers. They come as our guests Bek-Nielsen’s workers have for him. to work for us and then they go back.

They are people, just like us,” BekThe man who saluted is clearly not Nielsen says. local; Bek-Nielsen says that 85% to 90% of the estate’s general agricultural staff This is why we’ve been invited here, are from India, Indo­nesia and Nepal. to have a look at the working conditions

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

»

Bek-Nielsen is firm in his reply when we bring up the claims: UP does not condone such practices and it prides itself on protecting workers’ welfare, whether they are local or foreign. If there are oil palm estates abusing workers’ rights, they are giving the entire industry a bad name.

“I’m not disputing The Guardian’s findings, nor am I endorsing them.

Some of them could be true. The key thing is, if it is true, then it is a disgrace, and the companies involved have a moral obligation to correct the wrongs.

If there is substance to these allegations, then I hope the authorities come down on wrongdoers at once,” he says.

As the Guardian articles pointed out,

‘You have to make sure that the social fabric around your operations is intact,’ says Bek-Nielsen.

one of the main issues immigrant labour faces globally is having their right to travel curtailed; illegal and trafficked workers often have their passports taken from them, forcing them to work as indentured slaves, practically. This is something Bek-Nielsen obviously feels strongly about, and he becomes animated as he insists that workers on local estates are not illegal and have freedom of movement.

“We don’t have illegal workers on our estates. If the authorities catch anyone who has been doing that, the ramifications would be enormous. You wouldn’t be allowed to move in and out of the country. Your passport would be impounded, and your bank account frozen,” he points out.

UP also does not restrict workers’ passports, Bek-Nielsen says, as evidenced by the fact that more than 10% of its workforce returned home on leave last year.

And 1,500 to 1,800 of its foreign workers are repatriated every year to make way for new workers coming in –

something that would be difficult to do if the workers were illegal.

Faizol Haniba, an assistant manager who heads a team of about 300 mostly foreign workers, explains that his staff have lockers for their documents.

“They keep their keys with them. We don’t confiscate their passports. They can come and take their passports and go anywhere they want,” he explains.

Foreign worker welfare committees have also been organised to keep a special eye out – traditionally, foreign labour is vulnerable to exploitation, so UP wants to make sure their rights are looked after.

Meeting Human Needs Bek-Nielsen is a firm believer in sustainability, not only environmentally but also operationally; to him it is pointless for a company to burn itself out trying to make huge profits in one year with little regard for the future.

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

56 THE PLANTER’S CORNER “It is very important to have a longterm approach. You cannot think, ‘I want to just milk and slaughter the cow today.’ Today, we must appreciate that the price of being cheap is just too high.

If you go down that path, you will not be able to provide sustained growth or sustained, balanced economic viability.

“It is about trying your best to reach a point where development equals positive change,” he says.

“Business is, of course, about generating a profit. But it’s also about doing it in the right way.

It’s not enough to just do well, you also have to do good. You have to make sure that the social fabric around your operations is intact.”

UP’s awards over the years seem to bear Bek-Nielsen out. Among them is the honour of being proclaimed the world’s first certified producer of sustainable palm oil by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. In 2011, Malaysia’s Human Resources Ministry awarded it the prize for the best safety and health practices in the country, and in 2015, UP took first prize in the Best Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives category at The Edge Billion Ringgit Club Corporate Awards.

Jenderata seems to bear out UP’s track record. The 6,500ha estate is a thriving little town in its own right with four schools, 24 places of worship (including mosques, churches and temples), an old folk’s home, playgrounds, football fields and two clinics, among other facilities.

“We make sure workers’ houses are presentable and provide free schooling for children. We make sure there are recreational facilities like badminton courts and football fields so people can have fun after work – people have a right to these basic needs of humanity, and that’s what we offer,” Bek-Nielsen says.

The estate even has its own bakery to make bread and Danish pastries (what else!); it was founded by UP in 1982 after employees complained about the quality of the local bread. I’m slightly jealous – how come my office doesn’t have a Danish bakery?

THE PLANTER’S CORNER 57 UP has about 5,000 employees of which more than 1,000 work on Jenderata in jobs such as harvesting oil palm fruits, driving estate locomotives and tractors, spreading fertiliser, running the mills, and attending in the clinics.

These jobs, says BekNielsen, come with pay that is higher than the minimum wage: “Our average pay last month was just over RM1,400 per general worker – this is about 30% higher than the minimum wage in Peninsular Malaysia.”

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(The minimum wage was set at between RM900 and RM1,000 for Peninsular Malaysia by the Mini-mum Wages Order 2016.)

‘We need to maintain the safety of the workers,’ says Faizol.

UP is also a stickler about following labour laws on employee leave.

“General workers have 12 to 14 days of leave, and we follow the mandatory annum given by labour laws. They get public holidays off, and one day of rest a week. Whether Old-school transport to move the oil palm they want to adhere to that, fruit bunches to the mills keeps things a little however, is up to them. We greener. may offer more jobs or work, it’s up to them to voluntarily accept or decline,” Bek-Nielsen At the mill, assistant manager Faizol explains. talks enthusiastically about his team of 359 workers; 45 of them are locals In It For The Long-Term who serve as mandur and kangani (supervisors) while the rest, usually Going deep into the estate, we stop guest workers, are general or contract momentarily to watch oil palm fruits being workers. harvested. Workers slice the fruits off the palm fronds using mechanical cutters and Faizol wants to make a point about then – rather quaintly – use buffaloes to recruitment, earnestly saying that when transport the fruits to the mill. I find the it comes to foreign recruitment, proper combination of modern technology and procedure is always followed, with (very) old-school transport amusing, but UP human resources personnel going it turns out there are practical reasons abroad to find the best labour. for using the animals: apart from being a greener mode of transport, the buffaloes “In Indonesia, they will go to villages handle the soft soil much better than and talk to the headmen to find people. tractors and don’t make ruts as heavy Then they will go through the normal tractors would. visa process with the Immigration

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Adding to the estate’s green credentials are the mills’ biomass reciprocating boilers and biogas plants that supply steam and power while cutting costs and carbon dioxide emissions.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

Department here, and then the workers will be assigned to us for training.

“Training is done on the grounds, with assistants and staff,” says Faizol, who has worked at UP for five years.

Training, he explains, is matched to each worker’s abilities and is carried out for three months or more.

“We had a few degree holders from Bangladesh. Those fellows, we didn’t even need three months to train them, they caught on very fast,” Faizol says.

Faizol’s duties include supervising his team members’ daily workload as well as ensuring everyone’s welfare is taken care of.

“We look after everything from A-Z, from accommodation to food to electricity. We offer free transport for people to do their Friday prayers. Even today, we are arranging for a pap smear procedure for the women at Hospital Teluk Intan, for foreigners and local workers alike. That is part of our social responsibility,” he says.

Of course, disputes do arise, as they would in any workplace; however, Faizol says they have been rare in his experience, and usually tend to be settled quickly.

“If they are small matters, it’s usually a verbal warning. If it’s anything major, then maybe we suspend people for one day. But these fellows, they usually don’t have any big issues. Very, very rare,” he emphasises.

Looking after his team members’ welfare includes making sure they

are trained properly to handle any dangerous jobs, like spraying chemicals.

Faizol says that they are sticklers for meeting or even exceeding the standards set by the Malaysian Department of Safety and Health (DOSH).

“We provide a full set of personal protective equipment, including goggles, masks and boots – it all comes from DOSH. We can’t use the normal cikai-cikai (simply anything) type you find in the market,” Faizol says with a laugh, explaining that they spare no expense in getting approved equipment because “we need to maintain the safety of the workers”.

Additionally, all workers in such areas are subject to monthly medical examinations to ensure they have a clean bill of health.

Bek-Nielsen adds that safety is a top priority on Jenderata, as is the constant maintenance of all machinery.

“We have safety officers who go around conducting audits in our mills and refineries and on the estates. They come around without notice. We look for weak links and try to make them stronger.

“We have to be open and transparent about weaknesses, which every now and then surface. It’s all about creating a culture of safety and trying to become better at what we are doing,” Bek-

Nielsen explains.

The tour ends at Jenderata’s guest house with a delicious lunch provided by the staff and a discussion about the false perceptions foreign media sometimes have of how plantations are run.

Maintaining the welfare of workers on such a large estate is a challenge, Bek-Nielsen says, but it’s something he enjoys and works on constantly.

He has plans already for, among other things, building more guest workers’ terraces next year.

“It’s continuous upgrading. Certain stretches of road will be tarmaced, and some shophouses will be renewed.

We’re building 32 new first-class workers’ houses – that’s 64 units, which means 64 families will enjoy new housing facilities,” Bek-Nielsen says proudly.

“The palm oil industry is definitely not a bed of roses. But neither is it a bed of nails. The industry has many good things to offer and has played a fundamental role in lifting millions of people out of poverty in South-East Asia.

“Yes, there are black sheep who have to clean up their act. They need to focus on ‘long-termism’ and not just the short term.”

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

58 THE PLANTER’S CORNER Whether in agriculture or otherwise, the workers on Jenderata estate are taken care of

M. Ulsalakshi is a slight but spirited woman who speaks confidently with a no-nonsense attitude. A native of Teluk Intan, Perak, she’s been working as a mandur on the Jenderata Estate for more than two decades.

Her tasks include supervising a group of 12 workers and determining their wages for the day. Most of her team members are guest workers from Indonesia, India and Bangladesh.

Managing all of them can be tough sometimes, but, in her words, it’s a job that she “banyak suka” (likes very much).

“This company helped my children a lot when they were studying. They helped us with loans. And when my children went to study outside Teluk Intan, they helped provide buses,” Ulsalakshi says, speaking in Malay.

“There’s free housing and free water. And if we have health problems, there are hospitals nearby. Anything that happens, we can handle.”

Her confident words are echoed by fellow supervisor V. Kanniga, who has also worked at United Plantations (UP) for more than two decades. She leads a team of 14 men, supervising them as they harvest oil palm fruits.

“It’s good here. The company has helped my children go to school, and I am very grateful for that,” Kanniga said, also speaking in Malay.

Irwan, a guest worker from Lombok, Indonesia, has been working on Jenderata Estate for about nine months.

His main job is to load gathered oil palm fruits onto a buffalo, to be transported to the mills. According to him, he was brought here on the recommendation of his elder brother.

“I work from seven to 11, and then three to six. I like it here, it’s good,” Irwan says in halting Malay.

It’s not just the estate workers who are taken care of, of course; according

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One of the workers residences at the Jenderata Estate.

to UP vice chairman and chief executive director Datuk Carl Bek-Nielsen, every worker, whether they work in the estate hospital, bakery, clubhouse, mill or refinery has their welfare looked after.

and even my garden is taken care of.

“You’ll never get any of this living on your own,” Maheswaran says.

Goh Kheng Wee, for example, is a resident engineer at the Jenderata Mill. He’s worked there for nine years, starting in 2007 as a cadet engineer.

“Palm oil is a great industry to work in, as it promotes sustainable practices.

There’s a lot of room for growth – you don’t just stop at one level because there are a lot of opportunities to improve yourself,” he says.

At the Jenderata Group Hospital, senior hospital assistant in charge N. Maheswaran sees patients every day, treating them for all manner of ailments, from the common cold to industrial accidents.

The hospital features various up-todate medical facilities, and a medical officer visits every day to deal with more complicated medical cases.

“We’ve got good facilities here. I wouldn’t say it’s until we can do heart surgery or anything like that! But what we have is good,” Maheswaran says.

Does he enjoy his work on the estate?

“Definitely. If not, I wouldn’t be at this job for the past 35 years! Everything is taken care of here, we have quarters to stay in, which are well-furnished,

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

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Goh: ‘There’s room for growth, you don’t just stop at one level because there are opportunities to improve yourself.’

Source: Star2.com

60 THE PLANTER’S CORNER

THE PLANTER’S CORNER 61

LINTRAMAX LAUNCHES QUARTO CLOUD-BASED PLANTATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR PALM OIL PLANTATION BUSINESSES IN MALAYSIA

developing and now, bringing Quarto to the market, is of high value to LintraMax. Currently, our focus is to market Quarto to plantations in Malaysia where there is a vast market opportunity here. The funding from MDEC also enables us to start exploring and researching markets outside of Malaysia, for Quarto,” Mr. Khor Kheng Khoon continued.

The release of Quarto brings good news to business owners of palm oil plantations who lack resources tosetup their own internal IT infrastructure because they can now turn to managing their plantations using a system on the cloud through a mobile computer such as a tablet or a laptop.

MYR700,000 funding from Malaysian government agency MDEC supports development and commercialization of Quarto

Availability: Quarto Standard which is available now consists of key features critical to manage tasks and work activities from the estate level up to various functions such as accounting, staff payroll, general worker and harvester check-roll, procurement, inventory management, nursery management and vehicle management that are conducted at plantation head office. It is suitable for implementation by smallholders.

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A free product demonstration of Quarto is available and those interested may contact LintraMax at 03-7957-7585 or email at sales@lintramax.com.

About LintraMax: Founded in 2002, LintraMax Sdn. Bhd. is a provider of integrated plantation management software solutions for plantations of palm oil, rubber and other crops. To date, its solutions have been deployed in plantations in Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. LintraMax clients include FELCRA Berhad, SIPEF Group, MP Evans Group, Tamaco, Melangking, Guthrie Group and Lembaga Getah Malaysia. In Q4 2016, LintraMax launched its first cloud-based plantation management system available on a subscription basis.

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Mr Khor Kheng Khoon, founder and managing director of LintraMax

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etaling Jaya, Selangor, November 22, 2016 – LintraMax Sdn. Bhd., a provider of plantation management software solutions today launched Quarto which is a cloudbased plantation management system targeting palm oil plantation businesses in Malaysia. Based on a Softwareas-a-Service (SaaS) platform model, Quarto is an all-in-one solution which allows companies to manage their plantation business on a single system that supports various key operation functions. It streamlines plantation management workflows to help increase efficiency and productivity of a plantation. The new system also makes it easy for business owners to access data of their plantations at anytime and anywhere via a web browser on any mobile device.

The development and commercialization of Quarto are also

backed by funding received from Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation Sdn. Bhd. (MDEC). The funding which amounts to MYR700,000, and, comes from MDEC’s program called Product Development and Commercialization Fund (PCF), was secured by LintraMax early this year.

Prior to Quarto, LintraMax focused on developing on-premise systems to manage plantations and mills in Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. These on-premise systems require more resources to implement and maintain compared to what Quarto offers as a cloud-based solution.

Mr. Khor Kheng Khoon, Founder and Managing Director of LintraMax said, “We are very excited about the launch of Quarto. Running a palm oil plantation business can be tough if no proper system is in place to manage various operations, functions

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

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and processes. Without an integrated plantation management system like Quarto, plantation businesses have difficulties knowing what’s going on in their plantation operations. So, to address these and more, we’ve introduced Quarto, a new system that is innovative, efficient, reliable and secure to improve management of plantations of any size.”

“LintraMax was awarded the Product Development and Commercialization Fund for their cloud-based plantation management system which aims at digitalizing the plantation industry both locally and globally,” stated Dr. Ir. Karl Ng Kah Hou, Director, Innovation Capital of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation Sdn. Bhd. (MDEC).

“We are, indeed, very pleased that MDEC is on board with us.

Their support at the critical phase of

A MSC-certified company, LintraMax is headquartered in Petaling Jaya, Selangor with a software development center in Penang and a sales office in Jakarta, Indonesia. Visit LintraMax at www.lintramax.com.

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1 Mr Khor Kheng Khoon is talking to media

Khor Kheng Khoon with the Quarto Cloud-based 3 Mr Plantation Management System

staff from Lintramax is briefing the guests about Quarto 2 A software programme

4 VVIP during the Quarto launching event

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

62 THE PLANTER’S CORNER

OIL PALM SMALLHOLDERS URGED TO ADOPT INTEGRATED FARMING

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AHAD DATU: The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities has urged oil palm smallholders to engage in integrated plantation to include the cultivation of white and black pepper and cocoa.

Its Deputy Minister, Datuk Datu Nasrun Datu Mansur, said integrated farming would enable them to increase their productivity and income through the optimisation of land use.

“Oil palm also depends on climate, if the weather is not good for three, four months, the productivity will be low...but if we also have cocoa and pepper cultivation, this would help the smallholders as the time rotation between the crops are different,” he said.

He said this to reporters after launching the inaugural Hello Commodity programme in Sabah here, Sunday

Deputy Minister, Datuk Datu Nasrun Datu Mansur, said integrated farming would enable them to increase their productivity and income through the optimisation of land use.

In his address, he said the cultivation of other crops such as white and black pepper would enable the smallholders to generate higher income.

spanning 146,884ha, 5,602 people are engaged in cocoa cultivation (6,847ha) while 140 smallholders are involved in pepper cultivation covering 30ha.

“The market price of black pepper is about RM28,000 per tonne currently and for white pepper, RM50,000 per tonne,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said commodity and commodity-based exports were valued at RM88.2 billion for the JanuarySeptember 2016 period.

“The government has introduced various incentives and schemes to enhance the income of smallholders in the country and for integrated plantation they can get the information including advisory services from related bodies such as the Malaysian Palm Oil Board,” he added.

He said the ministry was committed to elevate the development of the commodity sector through various programmes and activities including the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil formulation, Kenaf Industry Development Plan and palm oil-based biofuel programme.

Datu Nasrun also said Sabah recorded the biggest plantation acreage for oil palm plantation in Malaysia, totalling 218,699 hectares (ha) involving 34,170 smallholders.

“Through these programmes, I am confident that revenue from commodity products exports of RM242.6 billion targeted under the National Commodity Policy could be achieved by 2020,” he said.

The state recorded a total of 37,453 smallholders involved in rubber plantation

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

Source: Bernama

New Holland TT4.55 / TT4.65 / TT4.75 / TT4.80 / TT4.90

Crop care

Palm oil farming, moving forward with mechanization

Ploughing

64 THE PLANTER’S CORNER

With the help of Riau University, farmers have been using ferns, locally known as pakis – which are considered a weed in palm oil plantations – as their main source for the fertilizer.

The ferns are mixed with brown sugar, coconut water, leftover rice water and chicken manure and covered for three weeks to allow the active ingredients to act.

“Usually the ferns are burnt [by the farmers] during the dry season, but by making use of it [as fertilizer], reduces the possibility of fires,” Riau University researcher Besri Nasrul said. “Farmers would need to check for moisture levels weekly for the compost to be processed.”

The initiative is part of the university’s collaboration with palm oil firm Minamas Plantation to empower Menggala Teladan village to deal with forest fires on their own.

This is the second initiative by Minamas after another in Kalimantan, as it is part of its efforts to have zero fires within a 5-kilometer radius of its plantations.

Riau University has been working closely with the farmers and villagers for six months to educate them on proper forest fire management and to eliminate slash-and-burn practices.

Source: Jakarta Globe

“What we found is that theory does not work – they are more partial to hands-on practice,” Besri said. “And another thing is to find key influencers in the village, which does not necessarily mean the village head.”

Besri said slash-and-burn practices are still rampant as it is a cheaper, faster solution.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

Haulage

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s forest fires continue to plague Riau, farmers in Rokan Hilir district took it upon themselves to find a more efficient way to combat the problem by using homemade organic fertilizer.

Plantation Maintainance

ORGANIC FERTILIZER USED TO COMBAT FOREST FIRES IN RIAU

DISCOVER THE NEW VERSATILE PARTNER FOR YOUR PLANTATION New Holland’s TT4 tractors offer you a wide range of solutions to maximize productivity in the mechanization of Palm Oil Plantation, plant care and haulage. New FPT engines deliver the latest technology to optimize fuel consumption. The Operator Platform layout and controls, assure operation is easy, effective and comfortable, and together support the highest standards of work done, at an optimum cost, in a multitude of applications. The robust design and ease of maintenance keep your investment working for the long term – always contributing to the overall profitability of crop production. www.newholland.com

66 EVENT HIGHLIGHT

EVENT HIGHLIGHT 67

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2 exhibitors from SENA- Acuicola and Agroindustrial 1 Our Gaira Center, Sectional Magdalena visitors in the conference room. Conference named 2 Our “The Market for Vitamins and Phytonutrients of Palm

Oil” by our speaker Andrés Ferrero Muro of PALMVIT

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visitors in the conference room. Conference named 3 Our “Technological Prospective of New Extractor Plants of

Palm Oil” by our speaker Juan Carlos Urueta Urueta of PALMACEITE

One of our VIP guests from Biocosta giving a speech at the opening ceremony.

PALMEX LATIN AMERICA 2016

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The first edition of the Latin America’s largest palm oil event, PALMEX LATINAMERICA 2016 ended with the following characteristics:

• More than 800 national and international palm oil visitors • More than 180 national and international exhibitors • More than 3000 sqm of exhibition space PALMEX LATIN AMERICA started its inaugural event on November 30, 2016 in Puerta de Oro, Barranquilla, Colombia.

Exhibitors event usually book a year in advance to exhibit at the event to ensure strategic locations at the event.

According to the latest and updated floor plan on this year, it’s fully booked, there were not any empty booths left.

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Machinery Demostration of Verion one of our exhibitors.

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Our visitors and exhibitors waiting for the opening ceremony.

The 2 days conference, LATIN AMERICA PALM OIL CONFERENCE (LAPOC) welcomed more than 12 internationally renowned speakers from the palm oil industry.

This year’s event was officially inaugurated by a lot important people from many giant palm oil mills in Colombia, such as Biocosta’s President Dr. Raul Eduardo Garcia, Palmaceite’s Manager Dr. Ivan Gutierres Noguera, Palmicultores del norte Manager Dr. Mauricio Vargas, Oleoflores Manager Dr. Carlos Jose Murgas and Dr. Jose Pedro Ferrero member of Palmvit demonstrating the importance of Palma oil in Latin America.

For more information on the event, visit www. palmoilcolombia.com/ or send an email to colombia@ fireworkssa.com to reserve a booth today.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

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FBI IN ACTION 69

A SUCCESSFUL OILS AND FATS INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS (OFIC) 2016 FOCUSING ON GLOBAL TRENDS IN OILS & FATS: PATHWAYS TO 2025

Malaysian Plantation Industry will be 100 years old by 2017 and he opined that for the next century, science, technology and innovation will drive the industry to the next level. Best practices in the upstream, mid-stream and downstream will continue to play a pivotal role in this development.

Another of the speakers of the Lecture Series stated that “human health is not up for negotiation” with reference to the presence of 3-MCPD. There was general consensus that the industry needs to consider seriously for the general improvement of quality standards. We should resort to science, technology and innovation to meet our aims and aspirations.

There was also consensus from the participants including the panel speaker from Indonesia that the Government of each country has played and should continue its efforts in the welfare of the palm oil industry.

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The Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities presenting the Kaufmann Memorial Award to Prof Yan Yuexin of China

cess should be increased to intensify research and development of oil palm and its products. In this context, efforts should be made concurrently to recruit and nurture young research workers.

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The Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, YB Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong declares the opening of OFIC 2016

he biennial event organised

by Malaysian Oil Scientists’ and Technologists’ Association (MOSTA) took place at Hotel Istana Kuala Lumpur from 19 October 2016 to 21 October 2016. Renowned scientists and technologists as well as leaders in the Oils and Fats Sector from around the world gathered together to share and disseminate latest technologies and research to a packed crowd.

was so informative that it was able to engage crowds till late in the evening!

The Evening Forum , one of the special features of the event, with panellists debating on “What are the Key Long Term Structural Trends that will Drive the Oils & Fats Complex?”

Concluding Remarks by President of MOSTA: Tan Sri Dr Augustine Ong

The Honourable Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities officiated the Opening Ceremony of OFIC on 20 October 2016 and the event was covered by more than 20 reporters and photographers emphasizing the importance of Science and Technology that will take the palm oil industry to the next 100 years!

The World population is expected to grow to 9 billion by 2050 and thus the

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

demand for all oils and fats will increase in tandem with demand for food, nonfood and fuel with palm oil as the dominant oil.

In his opening address, the Honourable Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities YB Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong stated that the Malaysian Plantation Industry will be 100 years old by 2017 and he opined that for the next century, science, technology and innovation will drive the industry to the next level. Best practices in the upstream, mid-stream and downstream will continue to play a pivotal role in this development. There was a suggestion that the research

The productivity of the oil palm has been identified as one of the main issues for the oil palm industry. The rate of increase in oil yield has been stagnant with a national average of about 4t/ ha/yr for oil palm as compared with soyabean (50%) and rapeseed (45%).

However, large established plantations have achieved yields of 5t/ha/yr at estate level, and 9t/ha/yr in research plots, moving to the theoretical yield of 18t/ha/yr. Several members of the industry expressed the view that they would be contented with national average oil yield 4.5t/ha/yr in the near future bearing in mind the oil palm is a perennial crop and replanting can only be done in stages. Factors other than technical aspect should be identified and addressed with the objective of improving the yield.

Another aspect emphasised was creating high value via downstream activities. A novel value-added product in the form of formulation involving palm fat and dairy proteins was highlighted . Some manufacturers have

initiated production in this direction.

An added attraction of OFIC 2016 was the hosting of the International Society for Fat Research (ISF) Lecture Series in conjunction with the Congress.

The Kaufmann Memorial Lecture, named in honor of the founder of ISF and which is presented during the ISF Lecture Series was delivered by Prof Yang. In her Memorial Lecture she had highlighted her research finding confirming that palm olein and virgin olive oil induced the same levels of LDL and HDL in human trials. This research result could be explained by the proposed sn-2 hypothesis. Further, by comparing cocoa butter, palm olein and virgin olive oil and finding that there were no differences in the levels of LDL and HDL of statistical significance, she has provided evidence for the sn-2 hypothesis i.e. the fatty acids at sn-2 positions determine the lipid levels.

Further, there were reports on the positive effects of carotenoids, tocotrienols and other phytonutrients.

It is worthy to note that one of the plantation companies has succeeded in producing palm hybrid oil with a yield of 6.5t/ha/yr. This product has the potential to be marketed as “the tropical olive oil” rich in β-carotenes.

In conclusion MOSTA would like to express our appreciation to ISF and MPOB for their collaboration which made the event successful.

Some of the Topic Highlights Include: • Reading Palms: The Oil Palm Genome and its Future • Global Trends in Oils & Fats: Pathways to 2025 • Reflections on Palm Oil’s Journey to the Top • Kaufmann Memorial Lecture on Oil Nutrition and Health Benefits • TPP and Other Trade Deals with Reference to Palm Oil Trade Prospects • Biodiesel’s Role in Palm Oil Expansion – Anti-dumping, Mandates and Moratoriums • Trade Challenges & Opportunities for Malaysian Palm Oil • Raman Optical Sensing for Precision Agriculture and Biomanufacturing • Vegetable Oil Processing: from Challenge to Opportunity to Solution • Saturated Fatty Acids and Cardiometabolic Risk – • Maintaining Palm Oil Industry’s Viability Through Managing Its Sustainability Concerns • Water Footprint for the Production of Crude Palm Oil – A Cradle to Gate Study • Available Technologies to Increase Palm Oil Productivity and Yield from Existing Land Area

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

70 FBI IN ACTION Some of the Speakers at OFIC 2016 • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Prof Dr Robert A. Martienssen Y Bhg. Dato’ Carl Bek-Nielsen Mr Dorab Mistry Prof Yang Yuexin Ms Sanya Reid Smith Dr Joe Feyertag Mr Syahril Syazli Ghazali Prof Dr Rajeev Ram Dr Marc Kellens Dr Rajiv Chowdhury Y Bhg. Tan Sri Yusof Basiron Dr Vijaya Subramaniam Dr Xaviar Arulandoo

ISF delegates from Argentina, Canada, US and UK at Sime Darby Plantation, Carey Island

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Tan Sri Lee Oi Hian explaining the benefits of Tocotrienols to the Minister at KLK Oleochemical Booth

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Packed Hall

Co-Located With:

MIP C

Organized by:

Supported by:

For more info, contact us at ASIA PALM MAGAZINE | January - March 2017 Tel : (+603) 7731OIL 1511 Sibu Municipal Council Email: info@nrg-expo.com

Asia Palm Oil Technology Association

Asia Palm Oil Magazine

NRG Exhibitions (M) Sdn Bhd

72 FBI IN ACTION

FBI IN ACTION 73

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2 International Palm Oil 1 Indonesia Conference, one of the activities of PALMEX INDONESIA 2016

2 Some of the Product Display.

Demostration at the PALMEX 3 Machinery INDONESIA 2016

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From the left: Drs H T Dzulmi Eldin Msi - Mayor of Medan, Balu a/l Nambiappan-MPOB Director of Economics and Industry Development, Susan Tricia-Managing Director of PT Fireworks Indonesia

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PALMEX INDONESIA 2016

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he 8th stellar edition of the world’s largest Palm oil event, PALMEX INDONESIA 2016 ended on a high note registering the following:

TH E 9 ON H T ITI ED OF

• More than 3000 international palm oil visitors • More than 200 exhibiting brands and more than 100 international exhibitors • More than 4000 Sqm of show space • More than 50 million usd worth of potential transactions during the 3 days event

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PALMEX INDONESIA started its inaugural event in 2009 and since then visitors and exhibitors had more than doubled!

Exhibitors wanting to have an exhibiting space at the event usually book a year in advance with many booking as early as 2 years ahead to secure strategic booth locations.

6th INDONESIA INTERNATIONAL PALM OIL CONFERENCE 2017

The INDONESIA INTERNATIONAL PALM OIL CONFERENCE welcomed more than 200 international delegates and more than 10 renowned international speakers from the Palm oil industry.

This year’s event was officially inaugurated by Drs H T Dzulmi Eldin S Msi ( Mayor of Medan ) and the presence of Malaysia Palm Oil Board, Mr Balu a/l Nambiappan ( Director Economic & Industry Development Division ) , once again signify the importance of PALMEX INDONESIA in the Palm oil industry.

To find out more information about the event please log on to: www.palmoilexpo.com or email: info@asiafireworks.com to book a stand today.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

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Crowds at PALMEX Indonesia 2016 which was held at Santika Premiere Dyandra, Medan, Indonesia.

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

74 FBI IN ACTION

FBI IN ACTION 75 “From an innovation standpoint, the Government is committed to ensure that Malaysian companies will participate in the real biomass value creation. In other words, rather than just supplying biomass as feedstock, these companies would be moving out of a commodity-based business mind-set into higher value-added activities that are both sustainable and commercially viable. We want to see this industry move innovatively to create sustainable biomass industries in Malaysia,” added YB Datuk Hajah Nancy Shukri.

YB Datuk Sri Mah Siew Keong also emphasized in his speech that biomass can be an important CEO of AIM, Datuk Mark Rozario is briefing the VVIPs prior to the Official Launch source of income for the plantation of IBCM2016. industry against the background of fluctuating commodity prices in resources to grow our manufacturing and services sector and recent years. “In the longer term, this will complement efforts to optimise the highest aggregated value these industries can explore new sources of income to ensure long term resilience of bring to the country,” said YB MITI Minister. the commodity industry,” he said.

“Yet, we are also aware that such opportunities are not As Malaysia has committed to address global climate limited to Malaysia. To continue to develop this industry change, replacing fossil-based materials with bio-based requires extensive collaboration and co-development materials will be one of the key solutions to reduce the efforts by the different foreign governments and business country’s carbon emissions intensity by 40 per cent by the community. Malaysia can be your destination to forge these year 2020. “With the technological advancement in the partnerships and alliances as well as become a platform for biomass industry, I am optimistic greater value can be created many businesses to expand in the region,” added YB Dato Sri from these resources through production of products such as Mustapa. biofuels, biochemical and other bio based products, and also contribute toward reducing carbon emissions,” added YB Through the National Biomass Strategy 2020 (NBS2020) Datuk Sri Mah. launched in 2011, Malaysia has outlined its growth strategy and developmental aspiration for this industry. For this As part of the NBS initiative, Sabah and Sarawak have purpose, the Government has been working closely with all their own individual biomass industry development plans stakeholders to establish the right foundation and ecosystem that were launched in February 2016 by the Prime Minister. for Malaysia to capitalise on the opportunities in the biomass Both Sabah and Sarawak account for more than 50% of industry. A dedicated unit, namely Biomass Strategy Delivery available biomass in the country.

Unit (1MBAS) was setup within Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (AIM), to execute the National Biomass Strategy 2020 The full day conference, held at MITI Tower was a (NBS2020). collaborative effort between the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) and Agensi Inovasi “The Biomass industry in Malaysia is still at Malaysia (AIM). IBCM2016 featured six panel discussions the stage of infancy, where there are many areas on a range of topics including business opportunities and market outlook, biomass value-chain, R&D and innovative currently still undergoing development. I believe technology development, and the industry outlook.

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The VVIPs and attendees of the IBCM2016. Names of VVIPs from left: Datuk Mark Rozario (CEO of AIM), YB Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri (Minister in the Prime Minister Department), YB Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed (Minister of International Trade and Industry), Dato’ Azman Mahmud (CEO of MIDA), Dato’ Susila Devi (Deputy CEO of MATRADE)

INTERNATIONAL BIOMASS CONFERENCE MALAYSIA CONNECTING TO THE GLOBAL BIOMASS ECOSYSTEM

11 October 2016, Kuala Lumpur – “Biomass is one of the priority areas for development that could serve as a high value economic driver for Malaysia’s economy in the near future. In recent years, the importance of the biomass industry across sectors within various types of applications and outputs has been growing. We should continue to focus and build on our niche areas and competencies in this industry while not forgetting the importance of collaborating with various stakeholders to ensure its sustainability,” said YB Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Malaysia at the official launching of the International Biomass Conference Malaysia 2016 (IBCM2016), today.

The event was also graced by YB Datuk Sri Mah Siew Keong, Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, and YB Datuk Hajah Nancy Shukri, Minister at theh Prime Minister’s Department.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

This year, the Conference brought together more than 900 key local and international players from the global biomass value chain.

Investments in the biomass industry in Malaysia continue to be encouraging and significant opportunities exist in downstream activities. In 2015, MIDA approved 40 biomass projects with investments of RM724.9 million compared with 40 projects and investments of RM230.6 million in the previous year. Domestic investments amounted to RM423 million while foreign investments totalled RM301.9 million.

For the first half of 2016, MIDA approved 12 biomass projects with investments of RM151.3 million.

In his speech, YB Dato’ Sri Mustapa urged local stakeholders to maximise the value of Malaysia’s biomass resources.

“Bioenergy, biofuels, biochemical and even biomass-based end products like bio-plastics present endless possibilities for the biomass industry. We should be leveraging on these

that technological advancement is something which is in the interest of everyone as it impacts the commercial viability of projects. It is a race of innovation and technology throughout the value chain, and whoever wins the race will reap the highest rewards.” said YB Datuk Hajah Nancy Shukri in her special address.

About MIDA MIDA is the government’s principal promotion agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) to oversee and drive investments in the manufacturing and services sectors in Malaysia. Starting operations in 1967, MIDA is the first point of contact for investors that want to take advantage of Malaysia’s vibrant economy, world-class infrastructure and business-friendly environment to set up their profit centre in Asia.

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

76 FBI IN ACTION About MATRADE

About Sarawak Biomass Industry Development Action Plan

MATRADE is the national trade promotion agency of Malaysia. The agency’s mission to promote Malaysia’s export has enabled many local companies to carve new frontiers in global markets. Today as MATRADE continues to put the spotlight on capable Malaysian companies on the international stage, the agency is helping make the phrase ‘Made-In-Malaysia’ synonymous with excellence, reliability and trustworthiness.

Similarly, this state-specific assessment on real biomass opportunity and action plan is an on-going initiative to seize the opportunity of using biomass materials from forest plantations, residues from sawmills and veneer mills in Sarawak, given that Sarawak state is a natural hub for forestry activities and holds most of the Nation’s forestry resources.

A total potential biomass supply of 21 million tonnes has been identified and there is also potential for Short Rotation Crops (SRC) plantations in Sarawak. The preliminary project findings reveals that surplus Oil Palm Fronds (OPF), Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) and harvest residues in the State offer the most potential new investments for the country.

About AIM A statutory body established by the Government through an Act of Parliament was created to jump start wealth creation through knowledge, technology and innovation to stimulate and develop the innovation eco-system in Malaysia. AIM lays the foundation of innovation that inspire and produce a new generation of innovative entrepreneurs. AIM has two clear goals; to bring about holistic societal well-being through cultivation of the innovation eco-system and to drive the national innovation agenda to generate new-wave wealth. This is achieved by facilitating collaboration between Government, Academia and Industry in advancing the consolidation and execution of new ideas in innovation.

Malaysia Palm Oil Expo 2017 (MAPEX 2017) date : 18th-20th July 2017 venue : Sibu Trade and Exhibition Centre (STEC), Sarawak, Malaysia web : www.asiapalm.com email : info@nrg-expo.com Riau Palm Oil Expo 2017 date : 26th-27th July 2017 venue : SKA Co Ex (Swiss-bel Hotel SKA Pekanbaru), Pekanbaru, Riau, Indonesia web : www.riaupalmoil.com email : info@asiafireworks.com

For more information visit the website: http://www. nbs2020.gov.my/

About National Biomass Strategy (NBS) 2020 The National Biomass Strategy (NBS) 2020 was initiated in November 2011 to assess how Malaysia can gain more revenue from its palm oil industry through utilisation of the associated biomass as a start. It is a result of extensive collaboration of the Malaysian Government with private sector companies as well as domestic and international research institutes and academia. The Strategy outlines the action plan and opportunities in the biomass value chain that could create RM 30 billion in additional GNI, 66,000 jobs mostly high value, 12% reduction in Carbon Emissions and RM 25 billion in Investments. While the strategy initially focused on the palm oil industry since it was the largest producer of biomass in Malaysia, the scope is also extended to include all types of biomass from sources such as rubber, wood and rice husk. In the version 2.0 of the NBS 2020 released in 2013, expanded scope to include biomass from Forestry sector and Dedicated Crops on Marginal Land as feedstock to higher value downstream industries addressing availability, mobilisation costs and downstream supply potential.

Palm Oil Events List 2017

T H A I L A N D

2017

by Ms. Patricia Chin of Malaysian-German Chamber »Briefing of Commerce and Industry (MGCC) to the VVIPs.

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PALMEX Thailand 2017 date : 17th-18th August 2017 venue : CO-OP Exhibition Centre, Surat Thani, Thailand web : www.thaipalmoil.com email : thai@asiafireworks.com

PALMEX Indonesia 2017 date : 3rd-5th October 2017 venue : Santika Premiere Dyandra, Medan Indonesia web : www.palmoilexpo.com email : info@asiafireworks.com PALMEX Latin America 2016 date : 30th November – 1st December 2017 venue : Puerta de Oro, Centro de Convenciones del Caribe, Atlantico, Columbia web : www.palmoilcolombia.com email : colombia@fireworks.com

About Sabah Biomass Industry Development Action Plan This state-specific assessment on real biomass opportunity and action plan is an on-going initiative to maximise Sabah’s biomass based economy. The key preliminary findings include Sabah’s potential to mobilise up to 5 million dry tonnes of biomass in the next 25 years. Given the availability of vast opportunities in the state, a longer-term biomass strategy roadmap is currently being developed to promote the growth of the industry in creating higher value downstream activities.

This will help to create ideal portfolio and customised action plans for the State and serve as a succession planning for National Biomass Strategy 2020 initiative by internalising it as part of the development blueprint for Sabah State in order to drive the biomass industry beyond 2020.

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

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Ms. Sundus Cordelia of Dong Energy is giving a briefing to the VVIPs visiting Dong Energy booth at the IBCM2016 Exhibition.

January - March 2017 | ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE

78 ADVERTISER INDEX

ADVERTISER INDEX PAGE ADVERTISERS

WEBSITE

23 Alfa Laval Malaysia Sdn Bhd

www.alfalaval.com

63 CNH International

www.newholland.com / www.cnhindustrial.com

13 CHEP Pallecon Solutions (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd 57 Eurostar Tractors (M) Sdn Bhd

45 Felda Palm Industries Sdn Bhd

15 Green Lagoon Technology Sdn Bhd

29 HA-US Santrifuj Teknolojileri SanTic Ltd Sti

09 Jasa Aman Engineering Sdn Bhd (Prime Steam Turbine) 21 JCB South East Asia

17 JJ-Lurgi Engineering Sdn Bhd 68 MAPEX 2017

69 Mastech City Engineering (M) Sdn Bhd

INSERT CARD Muar Ban Lee Engineering Sdn Bhd 61 Nantong Ant Machinery Co. Ltd

IBC Oiltek Sdn Bhd

35 Orion Biosains Sdn Bhd

71 PALMEX Indonesia 2017

65 PALMEX Latin America 2017 39 PALMEX Thailand 2017

39 Riau Palm Oil Expo 2017

05 Taner Industrial Technology (M) Sdn Bhd

3/ IFC/ OBC YKL Engineering Sdn Bhd

www.chep.com/pallecon

www.eurostartractors.com feldaglobal.com www.glt.my

www.haus.com.tr

www.jasaaman.com www.jcb.com

www.jj-lurgi.com asiapalmoil.com

mastechcity@mastechcity.com (E-mail) www.mbl.com www.antcn.cn

www.oiltek.com.my

www.orionbiosains.com www.palmoilexpo.com

www.palmoilcolombia.com www.thaipalmoil.com

www.riaupalmoil.com www.taner.com.my

www.yklgroup.com.my

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SINGAPORE | Fireworks Business Information 1 Scotts Road, #24-10, Shaw Centre Singapore 228208 Tel: (+65) 3152 6851 Fax: (+65) 3152 0253 Email: sg@asiafireworks.com

INDONESIA | Fireworks Business Information The Central 88 Kemayoran. Komplek Kota Baru, Bandar Kemayoran Blok D No 308. Jakarta Utara 14410, Indonesia Tel: (+6621) 2605 1028/ 2605 1029 Email: info@fireworksbi.com

ASIA PALM OIL MAGAZINE | January - March 2017

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Branches

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Lot 663, Batu 10, Kampung Paya Panjang, Bukit Pasir, 84300 Muar, Johor, Malaysia.

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