DEMAND – OPIEJ

Indonesian Oil Palm Competitiveness: PT Socfindo as a Private Sector Example

mpob_admin — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 05:06:45 +0000

PT Socfindo is a long established, foreign owned, plantation company with operations in North Sumatra and Aceh. This paper provides a brief review of the background situation to the Indonesian oil palm industry, whilst noting the continued rapid expansion of this sector. The paper also provides a detailed example of how, over the past 30 years, PT Socfindo has retained its competitive advantage in terms of production costs and profitability through the twin mechanisms of increased productivity (internal factor) and rupiah devaluation(external factor). Provided the continued improvement in productivity of every hectare of planted land can be sustained by progressive improvements in planting materials and agricultural practices, the future prospects of this company remain extremely positive. Therefore, the experience gained by PT Socfindo over this extended period of increasing competition and a declining trend in palm oil commodity prices, could act as an example for the new players to follow in order to sustain the competitiveness of the Indonesian oil palm sector

The Elasticity of Foreign Demand for Malaysian Palm Oil

mpob_admin — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 05:05:23 +0000

The price elasticity of export demand is expected to receive considerable attention due to the current economic climate of volatile export markets and prices. The export demand elasticity is used to predict the change in demand for an export for a unit change in its price and to model the behaviour of foreign buyers. This project estimated the elasticity of foreign demand for Malaysian palm oil for the major importing countries – China P R, India, Pakistan, Egypt and South Korea. The error correction mechanism (ECM) method was used for the estimation considering its usefulness in quantifying the short-run and long-run effects of explanatory variables on the dependent variables using timeseries data. It was found that the price of palm oil plays a very significant role in its export; thus, the price needs to be stable and competitive with those of its substitutes, especially soyabean oil. From panel data research, the effect of a unit change in the soyabean oil price is greater on the exports of crude palm oil than the effect of the same change in the palm oil price. This means that both oils are highly substitutable.

Prospects of Elevating National Oil Palm Productivity: A Malaysian Perspective

mpob_admin — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 08:27:13 +0000

The expansion of oil palm plantings has been phenomenal: from 60 000 ha in 1960 to 3.50 million hectares in 2001 and an expected 5.10 million hectares in 2020. The increase in palm oil production has accordingly reflected the pattern of the planted area, i.e. 91 793 t in 1960 to 11.80 million tonnes in 2001 and an expected 18.81 million tonnes in 2020. The national oil yield average does not seem to increase in step with the advances made in science and technology. The national oil yield average was 3.63 t/ha from 1975 to 2001, while the last 10-year average (1992-2001)was only 3.50 t/ha. This is very low indeed with no significant difference from other competing countries. Oil palm breeding has improved the planting materials. The oil yield of duras has improved from 2.8 to 4.5 t/ha after four selections. The oil yield of teneras from subsequent dura selections and introgression with selected pisiferas has improved from 6.3 to 11.2 t/ha in the last four decades. Why then is the national oil yield average still low? There can be many macro-reasons. Some reasons can be that with the rapid expansion of oil palm area, the limited areas of Class 1 and 2 soils have been used up and plantings have extended to Class 3 (marginal) and 4 (unsuitable) soils. Some other reasons may be inadequate agronomic inputs (especially fertilizer, field maintenance, etc.), shortage of skilled labour, ineffective and inadequate estate management, low replanting rate, and imbalance of extension service capability vis-‡-vis increases in oil palm plantings. These factors can lead to a combination of low fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yield and oil extraction rate (OER) which will eventually lead to low oil yield. There is a need to have strategies and a plan of action to overcome these constraints in order to increase the national oil yield average to the target of 8.8 t/ha by 2020. Implementation of short-term strategies can lead to an immediate increment in oil yield. However, it would need the implementation of medium- and long-term strategies to eventually lead to achieving the target. The incentive for the industry to follow these strategies will be an increase in yield with a sustained cost of production, thus making the industry more profitable and competitive.

Palm Oil and Its Global Supply and Demand Prospects

mpob_admin — Mon, 27 Aug 2018 08:01:30 +0000

The paper outlines the global palm oil situation and highlights the developments in the Malaysian and Indonesian palm oil industry. Palm oil has played a positive role in the world oils and fats supply and demand equation largely due to its techno-economic advantages and versatility as well as some of the developments in the world in relation to security of supply, health and environment. The paper will also discuss the various challenges confronting palm oil in the world market, namely self-sufficiency policies by developing countries, crop subsidies by developed countries, stringent standards and quality for trade, non-tariff technical barriers and effects of exchange rate variations.