The Palm Scribe is a platform to serve the palm oil industry by helping it foster a healthier and more constructive public discourse on the industry.
NEWS
Norway To Meet Promise Over Cuts in Deforestation, Carbon
The Norwegian government is planning to compensate Indonesia after it has confirmed reports that the country has been able to curb carbon emission from deforestation in 2017, a Norwegian diplomat said.
2019 Presidential Debate Touches Palm Oil Issues
The second round of presidential candidate debate held on Sunday, February 17, 2019, began to discuss issues surrounding the Environment, Natural Resources, and Food and Energy.
Study Finds Increasing Peat Soil Conversion for Oil Palms
A three-year study conducted in Indonesia’s Central and West Kalimantan provinces found that there was an increase in the conversion of peat soi into oil palm plantation, especially by smallholders.
EU position on Palm Oil unlikely to change: Indonesian Diplomat
The European Commission is currently canvassing inputs and opinions on a draft proposal it had issued for a Delegated Act on sustainability criteria of biofuels, but the likeliness of it leading to a change in the European Union position on palm oil was very thin, an Indonesian diplomat said.
Salim Ivomas Resigns from the RSPO
Salim Ivomas Pratama (SIMP) officially resigned from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) membership on 8 January 2019. Previously, PT London Sumatera (Lonsum), a subsidiary of Salim Ivomas, withdrew from the association at the end of January 2019.
GAPKI Airs Optimism for 2019
The Indonesian Association of Palm oil Producers (GAPKI) remained optimistic that in 2019, the country’s palm oil industry will be better than last year citing, improving economic growth and especially with the implementation of the B20 biofuel mixture and the possibility of an earlier upgrade of the program to the B30.
Indonesia Records Higher Exports of CPO Derivative Products in 2018
Indonesia recorded higher exports of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) derivative products, biodiesel, and oleochemicals by eight percent in 2018 compared to the previous year. However, the CPO exports were also down by eight percent last year compared to 2017, the Indonesian Palm Oil Producer Association (GAPKI) said.
IUCN Seeks Facts Behind Much-Maligned Palm oil
Indonesia welcomes efforts by Swiss-based environmental network The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to conduct a series of researches to gather data on vegetable oil, including palm oil, across the globe to provide a strong basis for best policies on the sustainable provision of vegetable oils to meet the fast rising global demand.
EU Credibility at Stake Over Soybean Decision
The European Union’s classification of soybean as low risk to the environment because it falls under Indirect Land Use Conversion (ILUC) is undermining its credibility because it is a decision made without scientific basis, the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) former chairman Mahendra Siregar said on Monday (4/2).
INFOGRAPHICS
PROFILE
Indonesia’s Peat Restoration Efforts After Three Years
The head of the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) is slowly but definitively showing progress in the uphill battle faced by this institution. “I was nervous,” Nazir Foead told The Palm Scribe when asked how he had felt when appointed as head of the newly-established...
SPECIAL REPORTS
Plenty of Homework Left as Indonesian Palm Oil Industry Enters 2019
“The biggest challenge is the matter of sustainability that needs to be accelerated so that the negative accusations addressed against the palm oil industry could be silenced,” Bangun told The Palm Scribe in a short text message.
OPINIONS
Green Cheater
Greenpeace continues to deceive citizens with its fundraising campaign. After the recent sideshows in front of supermarkets, our heroes decided to chain themselves in front of Mondelez’s factories in Northern Italy and protest again palm oil giant Wilmar using the catchphrase: “No to Palm Oil! that Kills Forests.”
VIDEOS
Nazir Foead: Challenges in Planting Oil Palm on Peatland
Balancing Business and Environment Conservation in West Papua
Konsultasi Dengan Masyarakat Setempat Kunci Bagi Operasi ANJ di Papua
News Roundup
Summaries of what Indonesian newspapers are reporting about the industry.
Press Release
The Palm Scribe compiles press releases from various parties in the palm oil industry here.
Indonesia lobbies India over CPO
Kompas, 22 February 2019 Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita on the sidelines of the 4th India-ASEAN Expo and Summit in New Delhi, India, on Thursday (February 21) said Indonesia may suffer a significant decrease in crude palm oil (CPO) derivatives exports to India,...
Malaysia ready to fight for palm oil
Bisnis Indonesia, 21 February 2019 Malaysia's Foreign Affairs Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said the European Union wanted to kick crude palm oil out of the region, as cited from "Bloomberg" on Wednesday (February 20). Thus, Malaysia, the world's second largest CPO...
Roadmap to improve palm oil productivity
Kompas, 20 February 2019 The government needs to develop a roadmap to guide the implementation of the Presidential Instruction No.8/2018 on Moratorium and Evaluation of Oil Palm Plantation Permit and Productivity Improvement of Oil Palm Plantations, Oil Palm Farmers...
Farmers find difficulties in meeting replanting fund requirements
Kompas, 14 February 2019 Oil palm farmers are finding it difficult to meet the replanting fund eligibility requirements. As a result, they had to delay replanting and continue to cultivate old oil palm trees. Indonesian Oil Palm Estate Fund (BPDPKS) Director Herdrajat...
CPO price weaken due to oversupply
Bisnis Indonesia, 13 February 2019 The benchmark crude palm oil contract for April delivery at the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 0.53% or 12 points to 2,254 ringgit per metric ton on Tuesday's (February 12) close. Asia Trade Point Futures analyst Deddy Yusuf...
Look at palm oil problems as a whole
Kompas, 12 February 2019 The government should read in detail the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on palm oil and biodiversity. The report found that while palm oil is more efficient than other kinds of vegetable oil, expansion of oil palm...