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ABSTRACT |
The
Role of Research and Development Strategies in Food Safety and Good
Agricultural, Manufacturing and Distribution Practices in the Malaysian
Palm Oil Industry
Globalization has expanded the Malaysian palm oil export market to
over 140 countries. Research and development strategies carried out
by Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) continue to provide information
to demonstrate proactively food safety with negligible risk in its global
supply chains. By examining the factors of air, water, soil, agricultural
input, raw material and human used in the production, processing and
manufacturing operations, the sound knowledge of science and
technology from the 209 MPOB innovations, when combined with
business and application of the widely accepted rigorous and systematic
method of assessing and controlling hazards through the food chain,
has ensured that palm oil remains an agricultural product that is healthy
and safe to the customer. Throughout the food supply chain, the general
principles of hazard analysis by critical control points (HACCP) have
been incorporated into food safety legislation, long before they were
officially introduced, to check the hygiene requirement and to use as a
practical means of standardizing international food quality control and
assurance practices. Every stage of preparation, processing, transport
and distribution of palm oil is examined so that the final palm oil
products for retailing to customers indeed are safe and nutritious. An
effort is made to communicate new R&D findings to retain the credibility
and trust of customers who will understand what lies behind such a
food safety assurance scheme. The value-add throughout the supply chain covers good agricultural practices (GAP), good manufacturing practices (GMP) and good distribution practices (GDP). Built into a database, the information gathered allows the effectiveness of the good practices in food safety management, detection of contaminants, toxicology, novel processing,
packaging and application of risk management to be evaluated. The
harmonization of these good practices towards standardization provides
a high level of confidence to the operational entities and the customers.
The auditors and assessors when benchmarked by accredited bodies
that are internationally recognized, the industry will attain integrity
by their assessment. Knowledge that Malaysian palm oil products are
produced to an agreed standard will further boost consumer confidence
by making them even more acceptable by people the world over.
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Market
Potential and Challenges for the Malaysian Palm Oil Industry in Facing
Competition from Other Vegetable Oils
The market potential for oils and fats remains good into the future
considering the increases in population, income as well as per capita
consumption especially in countries with currently low income and
low consumption. However, the challenges are that most of the oils are
inter-substitutable and therefore in competition with each other. Thus,
countries impose support measures to gain markets for their products.
This paper examines the market potential and challenges of the
Malaysian palm oil industry in facing competition from other vegetable
oils. There exists a relationship between vegetable oil prices in the long-term
and short-term because they are co-integrated. The vector error
correction model (VECM) was used to distinguish the long- and short-term
relationships between the vegetable oil price variables. This test
determined the oils in close competition with one another as well as
established the bi-directional causality between the oils. The former
means that two or more oils can influence each other. In general, it was
concluded that palm olein is a price leader to certain vegetable oils and
the challenge lies in making it the main price leader in the vegetable
oils and fats sector. This can be achieved by palm oil producing and
exporting countries having their own market intelligence to confer an
advantage in preparing better competing strategies.
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Market
Evaluation of Phosphate Fertilizers from Various Sources for Matured
Oil Palm in Malaysia
Fertilizers are one of the most important inputs in the production of
palm oil. Their use is dependent on the price of palm oil (PO), the
higher the price the more the fertilizers used. P fertilizers significantly
increased fresh fruit bunches (FFB) yield and the rates to be used will
depend on the costs and benefits afforded by them. This study determines
the costs and benefits of utilizing various sources of phosphate fertilizers
through partial budgeting and dominance analysis for gross return (GR),
total variable cost (TVC), marginal rate of net return (MRNR), net
return (NR) and return on investment (ROI).
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Palm
Oil Derived Esters - An Environmentally Safe Drilling Fluid
The rising world energy demand has led to exploration for oil and gas in increasingly
difficult environments. Exploration is now extending into sensitive regions, in
particular, offshore fields. Drilling in deep water in increasingly deviated and extended
wells and borehole instability in challenging geological formations are some of the
obstacles encountered.
Oil-based drilling fluids are widely used in drilling, especially in highly technical
wells. This is because oil-based drilling mud systems perform much better than
water-based muds in bore hole stabilization and providing lubricity thereby give faster
rates of penetration. However, they are a cause for environmental concern and with
the potential long-term liability for damage caused by mud spills and problems in
disposal of the oil-contaminated drill cuttings, changes are afoot. The industry has
been replacing highly aromatic oils (e.g. diesel) with low aromatic mineral oils as well
as synthetic oils. However, as environmental legislation and controls become more
stringent, even the newer and less polluting mineral and synthetic oils in vogue now
may be adjudged unsuitable because of their non-biodegradability. Indeed, today, in
many parts of the world, including countries like the USA, United Kingdom, Holland,
Norway, Nigeria and Australia, the use of diesel and mineral oil-based drilling fluids in
offshore operations is already either severely restricted or banned because of their
toxicity, persistency and bio-accumulation.
In direct response to the need for a high performance and environmentally
safe alternative to petroleum-based materials, common vegetable and fish oils have
been tested. However, none of them as yet offers the necessary chemical stability
nor rheological properties required. Many individual results were compared during the
initial testing period. Notwithstanding this, after considerable research and extensive
testing, a high performance and biodegradable vegetable-based ester has been.produced from palm kernel oil. This ester has been produced in Malaysia since 1995
and has found widespread acceptance and applications in offshore regions where
pressure from the environmental authorities has been mounting. This biodegradable
ester is an alternative to petroleum-based muds. This is because petroleum muds are
costly and troublesome to process for recovering and transporting the drill cuttings to
the shore for treatment and disposal. The used vegetable-based esters, in contrast,
can be safely discharged into the ocean without harming the eco-system.
Malaysia is becoming more conscious of the need to exercise greater care in
protecting its environment. Sensing the need for better control over marine pollution,
the Department of Environment proposed in 1999 an amendment to the
Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations 1989 to include drilling mud
or residues containing hazardous compounds (Part I, item 35) in the list of scheduled
wastes. However, incorporating it is still an ongoing and arduous process. The
petroleum industry has generally been slow to respond simply because there is no
regulatory requirement to do so. Although environmental friendly ester-based carrier
fluids are available since the early 1990s, the additional cost is deemed unnecessary.
However, the waste we leave on our seabeds will stay around for a long time and
continue to impact us well into the future. Therefore, we must act immediately in
order to prevent a public outcry later for our lack of serious attention and responsible
action. Good practice and common sense should dictate [see USA Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA)] the use of best available technology at reasonable cost.
The additional cost to use such systems represents less than 2% of the total well
cost. It also makes perfect sense to champion the use of renewable and
environmentally friendly palm derived products in Southeast Asia since Malaysia is
the world’s largest producer of palm oil.
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