Tag - palm-oil

 
 

PALM OIL

Awang Suang trims weeds from palm trees on his small plantation in Membakut, Malaysia on Feb. 12. He has been cultivating oil palms for more than 50 years after switching from rubber trees. Palms require less labor and produce more frequent harvests — roughly every two weeks, year round — providing a steadier income, he explained.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Mar 18, 2024
Can Europe save forests without killing jobs in Malaysia?
A new regulation aims to rid the palm oil supply chain of imports that come from former forestland.
A harvest at a palm oil plantation in Khammam, India, in 2022
BUSINESS
Oct 1, 2023
Aging trees show a crisis looms for the world’s everything oil
Malaysia and Indonesia provide 85% the world's most versatile edible oil — but their trees are growing old, and replacing them is expensive.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 11, 2023
Could an EU law to save the rainforest destroy palm oil farmers?
The long list of requirements will be hard for small-scale farmers to meet, and could push risk-averse palm oil buyers in Europe to switch to larger plantations with deeper pockets.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2022
Human rights and environment become key in procuring palm oil
The problem of child labor at farms and deforestation caused by farm development are increasingly attracting attention.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Sep 19, 2022
Asian farmers plant to boost palm oil output as seedling shortage slows pace
Asia produces more than 90% of the world's cheapest edible oil used in cooking, baking and cosmetics.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 23, 2022
Indonesia set to resume palm oil exports, but policy uncertainty persists
Palm oil, used in everything from margarine to shampoo, comprises a third of the world's vegetable oil market, with Indonesia accounting for about 60% of supply.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 28, 2022
How Africa is bearing the brunt of palm oil's perfect storm
Neither Russia nor Ukraine produces palm oil, a tropical commodity, but Moscow's invasion has triggered knock-on effects across today's intricately interconnected global economy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 26, 2022
Big grocery shock looms as food giants face cooking oil risk
The world's biggest shipper, Indonesia, will halt some cooking oil exports from April 28 after a domestic shortage led to street protests over high food costs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 25, 2022
Indonesia's palm oil export ban leaves global buyers with no Plan B
Vegetable oil prices have already risen more than 50% in the past six months, as factors ranging from labor shortages in Malaysia to droughts in Argentina and Canada have curtailed supplies.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 27, 2022
Malaysia's Sabah aims to be world's first 'green' palm oil state
Palm oil is the world's most widely used edible oil, found in everything from margarine to soap, but it has faced heavy scrutiny from green activists.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2021
Palm oil bulls to roar into 2022 on labor crunch and La Nina deluge
Disruptions of palm oil production could keep prices elevated after a record year in 2021 when benchmark futures rocketed to an all-time closing high of 5,071 ringgit ($1,213) a ton.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 10, 2021
Indonesia recruits farmers and teachers to battle anti-palm oil sentiment
The government wants to highlight the positive side of the industry, which employs over 15 million Indonesians and generates around 13% of the country's exports.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 23, 2021
India's palm oil campaign faces hurdles with water and seedlings scarce
Record prices for palm, and new government promises of payouts even if prices slump, are driving an effort to boost output in India.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2021
Palm oil giant’s industry-beating ESG score hides razed forests
In the impoverished West African country of Liberia, a unit of the world's second-largest palm oil company has admitted to destroying forests and violating the rights of indigenous people.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 5, 2021
Rats, drought and labor shortages eat into global edible oil recovery
Malaysia is a microcosm of the difficulties facing producers of various edible oils across several continents, from Canadian canola farmers to Ukrainian sunflower growers.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Aug 11, 2021
To hit climate goals, Indonesia urged to permanently ban new palm oil plantations
Home to the world's third-largest tropical forests and also its biggest palm-oil producer, Indonesia introduced a three-year freeze on plantation permits that expires in September.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health / ANALYSIS
Feb 4, 2021
Indonesia's 'green diesel,' powered by palm oil, fuels threat to forests
The country is home to the world's third-largest tropical forests but is also its biggest producer of palm oil, and is steadily increasing use of the oil in biodiesel to boost demand.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Aug 28, 2020
Coconut and palm oil industries at loggerheads over environmental impact
A report highlighting the harmful environmental impact of coconut oil production by a researcher with links to the palm oil industry has sparked a heated debate over coveted green credentials in the multibillion dollar industries.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 5, 2020
Malaysia farms face $3 billion hit from palm oil worker shortage
The coronavirus pandemic has left Malaysia’s palm oil industry without enough workers, a shortage that could cost farmers as much as 25 percent of their annual production — a loss worth about $2.8 billion.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 27, 2020
Will coronavirus fan the flames of Southeast Asia's haze problem?
Weak enforcement of restrictions to curb COVID-19 infections in rural Indonesia, coupled with farmers opting for cheap ways to clear land, could see a repeat of the forest fires and smoke that choked Southeast Asia last year, environmentalists have said.

Longform

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