Crude palm oil (CPO) prices are likely to be traded stable at RM2,400 to RM2,500 per tonne towards year-end, depending on the effect of the El Nino weather patterns on palm oil yields.
“If El Nino becomes very serious, then production will be affected. We know that monsoon in India this year is not so good, so there will be more imports from India. Overall, I think we are quite friendly to the market,” said Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) chairman Datuk Sabri Ahmad today.
The El Nino weather patterns, caused by a warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean, can result in droughts in some parts of the Asian region.
Sabri was speaking to reporters after the opening of the 2009 International Conference on Oil Palm and the Environment, which was officiated by Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.
The conference, organised by MPOB, was held here in conjunction with the Malaysia International Commodity Conference and Showcase. It discusses topics related to the industry, such as environmental concerns, renewable energy, greenhouse gas emission and carbon footprint.
According to Sabri, the CPO price which hovered at the level of RM2,400 to RM2,500 per tonne last week was a positive sign.
On palm oil stocks, he said: “Unlikely the stocks will be increasing like the previous year because exports are still very buoyant and good.”
He added that production will be less due to El Nino, coupled with rising demand following active buying ahead of the festive months in the second half of this year.
At the conference, MPOB also signed three memoranda of understanding with Shanghai Jiaotong University and Ronser BioTech Sdn Bhd, Global Green Synergy Sdn Bhd, and Berita Harian.
The first memorandum with Shanghai Jiaotong University and Ronser BioTech is to develop waste water treatment technologies using palm oil mill effluent zero discharge treatment system.
The aim is to generate income from carbon credits from the project as well as to promote the technologies among palm oil mill operators and owners.
For the partnership with Global Green Synergy, it is to develop a process system and technology for the commercial production of palm-based biomass briquettes.
The agreement with Berita Harian is to publish a special monthly issue of “Berita Sawit”, which was started in August 2001. -Bernama Source : Business Times
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