Palm oil production in Malaysia

Mature oil palm plantation in Malaysia (2007)

New palm oil plantation in East Malaysia (2010)

Palm oil production is vital for the economy of Malaysia, which is the world's second- largest producer of the commodity after Indonesia.^[1][2] The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) is a government agency responsible for the promotion and development of the palm oil sector in the country. The country's palm oil industry produces about 90 million tones of lignocellulosic biomass, including empty fruit bunches, oil palm trunks, and oil palm fronds, as well as palm oil mill effluent (POME).^[3] In 2010, in response to concerns about social and environmental impact of palm oil, the Malaysian Government pledged to limit palm oil plantation expansion by retaining at least half of the nation's land as forest cover.^[4]

History

Palm oil trees were introduced to British Malaya by the British government in early 1870s as ornament plants. The first commercial palm oil cultivation was done in Selangor in 1917. In the early 1960s, palm oil cultivation increased significantly under the government diversification program to reduce Malaysia's dependency on rubber and tin.

Geology

As of December 2012, palm oil plantation accounted for a total land use of 51,000 km² in Malaysia. It makes up 77% of agricultural land or about 15% of total land area in Malaysia.^[5]

Economics

In 2012, the Malaysian palm oil industry employed an estimated 491,000 workers.^[6]

Malaysia's Sime Darby is the largest listed palm oil company globally, based on plantation area and fresh fruit bunch production.^[7] The company was created through a Malaysian government initiated merger in December 2006.^[8][9] The world's second-largest oil palm plantation company, Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGV), is also based in Malaysia.^[10][11] Felda Global Ventures Holdings is the world's third largest palm oil company by planted acreage,^[12] controlling over 850,000 ha of land in the country, including approximately 500,000 ha that it leases and manages for smallholders.^[13]

Research institutions

In the 1960s, research and development (R&D) in oil palm breeding began to expand after Malaysia's Department of Agriculture established an exchange program with West African economies and four private plantations formed the Oil Palm Genetics Laboratory.^[14] The Malaysian government also established Kolej Serdang, which became the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in the 1970s to train agricultural and agroindustrial engineers and agribusiness graduates to conduct research in the field. Hello

In 1979, with support from the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) and UPM, the government set up the Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia (PORIM),^[15] a public-and-private-coordinated institution, meaning PORIM was run by representatives from government and industry^[16] B.C. Sekhar was appointed founder and chairman and Yusof Basiron served as Director-General.

PORIM was merged with the Palm Oil Licensing and Registration Authority (PORLA) to form the Malaysian Palm Oil Board in 2000. MPOB scientists work in oil palm tree breeding, palm oil nutrition and potential oleochemical uses.

Biodiesel

The Malaysian government established the National Biofuel Policy in 2006, which led to the implementation of the B5 mandate in some regions of the country. The B5 mandate requires that all diesel sold in these regions of Malaysia contain 5% palm oil biodiesel. This mandate is expected to be expanded nationwide in 2014, with plans to increase the minimum palm oil biodiesel content to 10%.^[17] The biodiesel sector in Malaysia has struggled to become profitable, due in part to the high cost of crude palm oil, which led to a dip in biodiesel production in the late 2000s. In 2012, there were 20 biodiesel plants in Malaysia, of which 2 were operational by early 2013.^[17][18] According to an advisor to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, biodiesel production in Malaysia is expected to double in 2013.^[19][20]

Labour practices

According to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs' List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, Malaysia's palm oil industry includes both child labour and forced labour practices.^[21]

See also

• Malaysia Derivatives Exchange
• Social and environmental impact of palm oil

References

Bibliography

• Ibrahim, Fatimah; Osman, Noor Azuan Abu; Usman, Juliana (28 April 2007). 3rd Kuala Lumpur International Conference on Biomedical Engineering 2006: Biomed 2006, 11-14 December 2006, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-68017-8. 

Palm oil
Oil palms	Attalea A. maripa Elaeis E. guineesis E. oleifera
Diseases and pests	Bagworm moth Basal stem rot (Ganoderma orbiforme) Cadang-cadang disease Little leaf syndrome Oryctes rhinoceros Rhynchophorus palmarum Oil palm bunch moth Tirathaba mundella Tirathaba rufivena Red ring disease (Bursaphelenchus cocophilus)
Components	Mesocarp Palm kernel oil lauric acid Palm oil stearin stearic acid linoleic acid myristic acid oleic acid palmitic acid
Processes	Fractionation Hydrolysis Milling Refining Saponification Transesterification
Products	Biodiesel by region NExBTL Bioplastics Cellulosic ethanol Girl Scout Cookies Oleochemicals Vegetable oil cooking fuel
Organisations	Producers Bumitama Agri Cargill Equatorial Palm Oil Federal Global Ventures (FGV) Feronia Inc. IOI Group Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad Sime Darby Wilmar International Buyers/ processors AAK GreenPalm Neste Unilever Governmental/ non-governmental FELDA The Forest Trust Indonesia Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Malaysia Derivatives Exchange Malaysian Palm Oil Board Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
Policies, impacts and debates	Biodiesel impacts Biofuel policy (Malaysia) Biofuels issues Certified sustainable palm oil Deforestation haze Food vs. fuel Social and environmental impacts Vegetable oils as alternative energy
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