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Segi Enam Research
POC2023 Panel Session - Palm Oil ...
Environment, Regulatory compliance
Yuleng Khor
The positive of the EUDR - inclusive of ...
Segi Enam Research
IDEAS-FedEx: Highlights on RCEP and how it can ...
IDEAS-FedEx: Highlights on RCEP and how it can benefit your business
Segi Enam Research
At Roundtable (RT) 2022 - Day 1 Observations
At Roundtable (RT) 2022 - Day 1 Observations
Segi Enam Research
PalmTrack—Sep 2022 Wrap Up
PalmTrack—Sep 2022 Wrap Up

Sime Darby Implements Governance and Operational Changes

Sime Darby has announced in a press release “sweeping changes in governance and operations” in attempt to address forced labour allegations levelled against the company and USCBP findings that resolving the issue would require “significant financial investments” and restructures. Several reforms pledged by Sime Darby are of notable:

  • Reimbursement of recruitment fees. Sime Darby will reimburse some 15,078 foreign workers with an aggregate sum of RM38.6 million. A sinking fund of RM43.5 million to reimburse 19,565 workers will also be set aside. All reimbursements will be paid in lump sum, and current foreign workers will be informed of and receive their monies on 17 February 2021.

  • Ethical recruitment. Due diligence will be conducted regularly on recruitment agents to ensure that they are credible and fully licenced. Monitoring and training will be given to agents selected via open tender processes, and will undergo performance monitoring as well. Agents found to have violated Sime Darby’s zero recruitment fee policy will be prohibited from working with Sime Darby.

  • Structural changes. An ESG scorecard with “clear indicators” has been approved by the Board. A Social Welfare & Services department responsible for the implementation of policies concerning workers’ safety and welfare has also been established. Accordingly, 40 full time Site Safety & Sustainability Officers have been appointed to enforce these policies.

PalmTrack—Update for the Week

This week in PalmTrack, we covered:

  1. Neste's renewable ops & news: Neste Oyj of Finland has been a big mover in renewable transport fuels and has been the group to watch for quite some years now. It is worth looking at Neste’s most recent financial reporting for how its sourcing platform, expansions, and maintenance are evolving, as well as its slew of news headlines.

  2. Tankers from Lubuk Gaung Port: PalmTrack’s sample reports over 200k net tonnage of tanker arrivals from Lubuk Gaung origin, in the four weeks leading up to 23 Jan 2022. This zone is a prominent with big refineries, oleochemical facilities, and also includes waste oil processing. Key exporters include RGE-Apical-AAA, GAR-Sinarmas, Musim Mas, and others. Port-at-calls regions are notably Europe and Malaysia-Singapore.

  3. Tankers from Indonesia: Port calls for 10–23 Jan 2022 (14 days) count, c. 60 palm-related tankers, with sample net tonnage c. 360k (versus 14D to 9 Jan, c.70 tankers with sample net tonnage c.430k). These two weeks (10–23 Jan), the share of calls was higher for ASEAN (Malaysia, Singapore) and Americas ports. In the news, Indonesia requirement for export permits for palm oil. Indonesian used cooking oil (UCO) exporters are also concerned about new export restrictions that came into force on 24 Jan.

Khor Reports’ PalmTrack is an independent research service that tracks palm tanker movements and reports trade of palm products (and shipments, upon request) for selected trade routes. It features a forward-looking market topic and sharp analysis every quarter, e.g. palm biofuels issues & opportunities for Jan–Mar 2022. Subscribe now!

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Orangutans in a Social Media Storm

Plantation and Industries Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin made an admittedly bewildering statement during a dialogue session organised by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) on 5 Jan 2022: according to her “in Malaysia, if you see orangutans, orangutans will kill you first. Not we kill the orangutans first.” Conservation experts have understandably responded to the Minister’s, pointing out the comments were inaccurate.

The Ministry has since issued an official statement, claiming that the remarks were taken out of context and that it was said in jest.

Orangutan and deforestation issues have been the iconic question for palm oil. The Minister’s apparently flippant comments are a challenge for palm oil promotion intentions, but she points to the bigger (missed) context her call for a focus on orangutan issues and data. Positive and decisive actions on orangutans should be the next step from this inordinate social media storm.

Getting serious about orangutans. The info-data issues include: 

  1. Orangutan population data has always been a bit difficult as it is based surveys and back-casting. Newer research seems to estimate a lot more orangutans in the past, and the reduction is often proportionate with forest loss. Some industry observers are suspicious of this, and they also worry about misleading images including a popular photo of an orangutan being "attacked by heavy equipment" that keeps circulating on social media. In fact, we hear that the animal, named Hyundai, was being rescued by this equipment. 

  2. NGOs should be more public and transparent with their information. There are even some accusations online lack of accountability for corporate donations for orangutan efforts. Whether true or not, from first hand experience, we know it is hard to find public information about primate conservation projects and their costs. 

  3. Primates are complex and not cuddly creatures, and all wild animals need to be treated with respect to reduce conflict with humans. This is a theme of conservation efforts and forums that MPOC has sponsored. Our late 2019 review of MPOC’s wildlife projects are here, and the project list has not seen updates since although there is news of some new initiatives. 

There can and should be more public information about orangutans (and other endangered species) from all stakeholders. If we are to care about conservation, we have to get serious about the costs as well as how much area and animals we can cover. Transparency and accountability are key. 

For more context of the Malaysia social media storm: Malaysian netizens have been criticising Malaysian politicians for many months now. The wrong words or tone are picked up terribly fast on TikTok, Twitter, and other social media platforms. Over the years, there has been a struggle to promote a positive image for palm oil. A previous effort to put Prime Minister Mahathir as the face of Malaysian palm oil, with a recommendation to "take a spoon a day", came up against counter-currents in domestic opinion as an investigation of school children talking about sustainable palm oil caught many by surprise (and there will be ongoing efforts to ensure children do not “badmouth” palm oil). Mahathir himself was also caught up in political issues with India, triggering a call to boycott Malaysia palm oil.

For more, listen to the BFM podcast here following the Minister’s alleged joke: Zuraida, Orangutans and Palm Oil: Unpacking the Issues

PalmTrack Resumes!

PalmTrack resumes after a two-week break, bringing you more news and analysis on the palm products trade.

The last three months of 2021 saw some significant updates in the area including: (1) expectations of further port delays and congestions at major Chinese ports amid AIS data block and tighter pandemic-related regulations; and (2) our watchlist of nearly 50 palm-related vessels; and (3) vessel movements of selected trade origins and/or destinations, including tanker presence at the Dumai area, Indonesia-India tanker voyages, and tankers travelling from Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and Thailand.

This year, we start off with a three-part series on the analysis of the issues and opportunities in palm biofuels. We have just published Part 1, which looks at the USD billions involved and who is more or less committed to spending and paying for it. We have also looked at the impact of the flash floods on palm oil supply in Indonesia and Malaysia. Subscribe to PalmTrack to read these posts!

Written by KHOR Yu Leng and Nadirah SHARIF of Khor Reports/Segi Enam Advisors, PalmTrack is a free, members-only space offering exclusive updates focusing on the palm products trade and presenting info-data driven insights with reference to granular trade statistics, near-time shipment/cargo information, and human-source market intelligence. Our coverage centres around Indonesia’s ports. Click the link below to subscribe!

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Mapping the Natural Rubber Value Chain in Malaysia

Happy New Year, everyone! It’s been a tumultuous end to 2021—the Philippines was ravaged by Typhoon Odette, Malaysia faced one of its worst floods in decades, several countries around the world were reporting and/or expecting a surge in Omicron infections.

The floods has triggered yet another wave of anger against the government, with frustrated Malaysians taking to social media to criticise officials for their incredibly slow response. Citizens and migrants are forced to help each another once again, this time under the #BanjirDarurat (Flood Emergency) campaign. Questions are also heating up on deforestation and the source of log jams in rural zones. As usual, we have the relevant social media data which we will explore in our next post under the Data and Analysis page.

For this post, a brief moment of happy news for us: in mid-December 2021, WWF released two reports exploring the sustainability issues surrounding the Malaysian natural rubber industry, both of which Segi Enam authored. What we found was that while the rubber supply chain is generally straightforward, the lack of transparency, traceability, and publicly available data makes it a difficult industry to evaluate when it comes to sustainability standards. Much of the root of the problem lies within the production system—for instance, smallholders dominate in this area and are typically not afforded the incentives to adopt more sustainable practices.

Segi Enam (WWF; 2021): Indicative map of rubber plantations in Malaysia based on the 2013-2014 dataset and maps retrieved from the Global Forest Watch (GFW) platform. Rubber dominant zones (dark green and mid-green) include: (1) Gua Musang, Kelantan; (2) near the Gerik, Perak-Southern Thai border; (3) Serting and Palong, Negeri Sembilan; (4) Lipis and Raub, Pahang; and (5) FELCRA/RISDA projects in Sarawak and estates in Sabah.

Read the full report here: Mapping the Natural Rubber Value Chain in Malaysia.

For the second report focusing specifically on the rubberwood sector: Addendum Report on Rubberwood

[Sample!] PalmTrack—Global Map of Key Palm Oil Company Vessels

PalmTrack continues with its exclusive update on palm tanker movements. Here’s a sample article of what we’ve been up to recently:

The above near real-time map shows estimates of tankers associated with major palm oil groups for 14 Dec 2021. Most appear to operate more frequently within the Southeast Asian region, with several deployed to key destinations including India, China, and Sri Lanka. We have a tanker watchlist of nearly 50 vessels of over 3 million net tonnage; many of these vessels appear in the map above, including the GS Future, Venus, and Melati Dua.

research@segi-enam.com | 14 Dec 2021

For online view only. Please to do not redistribute without our express permission. We offer subscription services for those who wish to do so.

Corporate Subscription (upcoming) offers more granular info-data details on product, trade and vessels mentioned in our reports.

Khor Reports’ PalmTrack is an independent research service that tracks palm tanker movements and reports trade of palm products (and shipments, upon request) for selected trade routes. It features a forward-looking market topic and sharp analysis every quarter, e.g. palm biofuels issues & opportunities for Jan–Mar 2022. Subscribe now!

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PalmTrack—A December 2021 Recap

As PalmTrack enters well into its second month, we continue to offer readers exclusive updates on the palm products trade. Here are a few snippets of the news we covered this past month:

We have a tanker watchlist of nearly 50 vessels with over 30 million net tonnes associated with key palm oil companies. Subscribe to PalmTrack and head on over to our post to see a near real-time map showing the estimated positions of some of these tankers.

As 2021 draws to a close, there are several recent key news and chatter surrounding the palm oil trade. Read our post for some of our market observations about food safety, sustainability, and Thailand from our interviews with experts.

Following reports on Indian refiners reducing their palm oil purchases and making the switch to sunflower and soybean oils, we have collected data on palm-related tankers sailing from Indonesia to India. Read our post for an analysis of this sample of data.

Other news:

Khor Reports’ PalmTrack is an independent research service that tracks palm tanker movements and reports trade of palm products (and shipments, upon request) for selected trade routes. It features a forward-looking market topic and sharp analysis every quarter, e.g. palm biofuels issues & opportunities for Jan–Mar 2022. Subscribe now!

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[Sample!] PalmTrack—Indonesia-India Vessel Movement

To give a feel of what has been going on on PalmTrack, here’s a sample article on Indonesia-India vessel movements:

Indian refiners are reportedly lowering their palm oil purchases, reducing their Nov 2021–Jan 2022 shipments, and making a switch towards sunflower and soybean oil imports instead. The steep rally in palm oil price has reduced its discount, giving way to rival oils.

India imports 13-15 million tonnes of palm oil a year, i.e. over 1 million tonnes a month. We had a preliminary look at tanker movements from Indonesia to India based on ship published origins and destinations (which is usually incomplete because not all vessels make full reports). This sample of tankers, covering an estimated 10% of total India monthly imports, largely originates from Riau and South Kalimantan and goes to Gujarat and Kerala. Top destination ports were Kandla (Gujarat), Vizhinjam, Cochin (Kerala), Haldia (West Bengal), and Mangalore (Karnataka).

Based on trade intelligence, we know the sample of tankers have been associated with major palm trader-processors and cargoes (YTD 2021); see text bubbles for key names. To review actual shippers and cargo, other datasets* can be reviewed.

We have further details for both arrival and departures by port/province/region, vessel tonnage, and granular information to jetties.

*It would also be useful to review customs info-data (not included in this summary). Please reach out to us at research@segi-enam.com.

research@segi-enam.com | 3 Dec 2021

For online view only. Please to do not redistribute without our express permission. We offer subscription services for those who wish to do so.

Corporate Subscription (upcoming) offers more granular info-data details on product, trade and vessels mentioned in our reports.

Khor Reports’ PalmTrack is an independent research service that tracks palm tanker movements and reports trade of palm products (and shipments, upon request) for selected trade routes. It features a forward-looking market topic and sharp analysis every quarter, e.g. palm biofuels issues & opportunities for Jan–Mar 2022. Subscribe now!

$380.00
Every year
$38.00
Every month

BFM: Compensation for States to Protect Forests

Earlier this week, the Malaysian federal government announced plans to compensate state governments for maintaining its forest reserves. While the quantum is still in the works, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Takiyuddin Hassan has revealed that it would be based on “the percentage of the forest reserves recorded at respective states.” Following the announcement, Kedah chief minister (menteri besar) Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor stated that the state should receive RM100 million a year for maintaining its forests, particularly its water catchment areas which provide water to Kedah as well as its neighbouring states of Penang and Perlis.

Crackdown on deforestation and logging following major flooding events is not new—we have a post several years ago pointing out this recurring trend at the state level: The Political-Economy of Land Development (or the Politics of Floods). Logging and sand mining activities have long been an issue in Kedah, justifying concerns surrounding the safety of water supply within the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia.

Editor’s comments: The data from the states on land and water-related incomes has been hard to follow. Revenues may be channelled through corporatised entities like Menteri Besar Incorporated, yayasans/foundations, joint ventures, and other efforts, without hitting state coffers. In our comparison of Kedah and Kelantan, the former appear to report higher income per hectare cleared and a higher ratio of state revenue from land-water sources. But information on forest conservation efforts and related costs are hard to come by. NGOs don't make things easy either.

I tried to benchmark the costs of conservation for primates, but couldn't find enough data to do so! And the costs to plant a tree are all over the place. Some experts have complained that some NGO/conservation entities have high overheads, e.g. flying first class to stay in Shangri-La Paris. Everybody has to do better transparency governance if we need large—if not mega—scale conservation and climate change forest projects. Why is there such a lack of data and consensus in the public sphere?

Listen to the podcast here: Compensation for States to Protect Forests

The Prime Minister has announced that the federal government will compensate states that maintain their forest reserves. We discuss what goes into this decision.

Image Source: Jeremy Bezanger, Unsplash; produced by: Alia Zefri, Raihanna Azwar; presented by: Lee Chwi Lynn, Sharmilla Ganesan

The China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

It is official: the China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has been established. The announcement was made by Chinese President Xi Jinping in his speech on Monday, signifying a milestone in dialogue relations within the Asia Pacific region first established in 1991. According to President Xi, China is “ready to import up to 150 billion USD worth of agricultural products from ASEAN in the next five years”—almost double of its current ASEAN farm imports—and expressed hope for ASEAN’s cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative.

A joint statement by China and ASEAN members states was also released, reaffirming cooperation several commitments, including the entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) on 1 January 2022 as well as continued implementation of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA).

Analysts have also noted that the announcement signified expanding China-ASEAN ties, with China calling for cooperation in new sectors including the digital economy. Deepening ties with China is expected to grant further trade benefits for certain ASEAN members as well, e.g. the tropical food trade for the Philippines.

Editor’s comment: In recent years, China has been a key importer of ASEAN fruits, vegetable oil and more. China summits have often pulled in ASEAN leaders who have touted their farm products, including pineapples, durians and more. As many countries produce similar product, the question intra-ASEAN competition arises; but rising demand in China could make the pie bigger for everyone.