Indonesia to revoke palm export ban from 23 May
Jakarta will allow exports of palm oil from 23 May, according to an announcement from Indonesia's president Joko Widodo on 19 May.
Whether exports of waste-based biofuel feedstocks used cooking oil and affected palm oil mill effluent HS codes will also be allowed to resume from Monday was not immediately clear.
The palm oil export ban will be lifted, despite Indonesian bulk cooking oil prices not having dropped below 14,000 rupiah/litre ($1/l) as intended, to alleviate pressure on the country's 17mn palm industry workers as domestic oil supply had already exceeded demand, Widodo said.
The government has been under pressure from palm oil lobby groups within the country to reverse the ban since it was implemented on 28 April, because of concerns surrounding domestic palm oil storage capacity limits, export revenue losses, and the impacts of currency deflation.
Related news posts
Japanese ethylene producers unite for decarbonization
Japanese ethylene producers unite for decarbonization
Tokyo, 8 May (Argus) — Japanese petrochemical producers Mitsui Chemicals, Mitsubishi Chemical and Asahi Kasei have agreed to co-operate on decarbonization of their ethylene crackers in west Japan, targeting to decide a pathway within the current April 2024-March 2025 fiscal year. They plan to accelerate carbon neutrality at Mitsubishi Chemical and Asahi Kasei's 496,000 t/yr Mizushima cracker in Okayama prefecture and Mitsui Chemicals' 455,000 t/yr Osaka cracker in Osaka prefecture. The partners aim to introduce biomass feedstocks such as biomass-based naphtha and bioethanol and low-carbon cracking fuels like ammonia, hydrogen and electricity. They said joining forces will enable them to accelerate reducing greenhouse gas emissions, although they have not yet decided any further details. Mitsui Chemicals has experience in using bio-naphtha and recycled pyrolysis oil at its Osaka cracker. Japanese petrochemical producers have increasingly united to achieve decarbonization of their production processes, which account for around 10pc of the Japanese industrial sector's carbon dioxide emissions, according to the trade and industry ministry. Mitsui Chemicals, Sumitomo Chemical and Maruzen Petrochemical agreed to study the feasibility of chemical recycling and using bio-feedstocks at the Keiyo industrial complex in Chiba. By Nanami Oki Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Sustainability key for Australian beef trade: Beef2024
Sustainability key for Australian beef trade: Beef2024
Dalby, 8 May (Argus) — Production sustainability credentials are becoming increasingly important for Australian beef producers to secure export market access and source capital, industry panellists said at the Beef2024 event in Queensland this week. There is growing industry concern about the impact of the incoming EU deforestation regulation (EUDR) in December, which will require cattle exporters to provide evidence that the land used in production did not cause deforestation or forest degradation. Such regulations may present a barrier to access if applied without acknowledging local production systems, said Australian sustainability firm Organic Systems and Solutions chief executive Marg Will and private investment firm Macdoch's executive chairperson Alasdair Macleod. The EU represents a small fraction of Australia's beef exports, but Will and Macleod stressed that compliance with sustainability regulations will increasingly influence the cost of finance available to producers. But the Australian beef industry is making headway in achieving sustainability targets.There is continuing progress towards the five sustainability goals announced by the Red Meat Advisory Council in 2023, according to the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework (ABSF) annual update released on 8 May. All indicators of animal welfare and environmental stewardship goals were improving or steady, except for processor waste to landfill, according to the ASBF report. Approximately 81pc of producers were reported to be adopting practices to improve soil water retention in 2023, up from 46.9pc in the last report, although the data was compiled from a separate source. Australia's beef industry is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2030 and the sector reduced its net CO2 emissions by 78pc between 2005-21, mainly because of avoided land clearing and deforestation. By Edward Dunlop ABSF Annual Update - Select Goal Indicators % 2024 Report 2023 Report Best Animal Care Cattle properties covered by a documented biosecurity plan 75.6 86.0 Mortality rate of cattle exported on sea voyages 0.1 0.1 Environmental Stewardship Cattle producers adopting practices to improve soil water retention 81.0 46.9 Total CO2e reduced by beef industry from a 2005 baseline 78.2 64.1 Economic Resilience Value share of Australian beef exports covered by one or more preferential trade agreements 91.0 90.3 Source: ABSF Values based off varied reporting periods Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Doubts abound over US midcon E15 shift: NATSO
Doubts abound over US midcon E15 shift: NATSO
Houston, 7 May (Argus) — An effort by eight US midcontinent states to start selling 15pc ethanol (E15) gasoline blends year-round starting in 2025 remains unlikely, according to US fuel retailer trade association NATSO. The US approved last month the request from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin for year-round E15 gasoline sales starting next year. But even with that approval there are many barriers to making those sales a reality, said David Fialkov vice president of government affairs for NATSO, which represents truck stops and travel center operators. This includes a lack of investment from pipelines and refiners to prepare for the changes, as well as the higher costs of separating and selling different gasoline specifications at the retail level. "I remain pessimistic that it will come to fruition," Fialkov said Tuesday at a conference held by fuel retail industry group SIGMA in Austin, Texas. Political pressure to delay or abate the change in the midcontinent states will probably continue until refiners, pipeline companies and retailers begin to make the investments necessary, said Fialkov. E15 has been available for sale across the US since 2019, but a federal court in 2021 found that the Clean Air Act offers a fuel volatility waiver to refiners to produce only 10pc ethanol gasoline. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has worked around this ruling for the last two summers by issuing temporary emergency orders allowing the sale of E15 because of the war in Ukraine's squeeze on crude prices. A group of midcontinent refiners has petitioned the EPA to delay implementation of the E15 rule until the summer of 2026. The EPA has not yet ruled on the request. Fialkov said a legislative solution to the issue at the federal level would provide a clear and uniform pathway to E15, as opposed to the the EPA's rule which leaves some states still relying on the waiver and others opting to go with year-round E15. By Zach Appel Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Superbac busca reestruturação de dívidas
Superbac busca reestruturação de dívidas
Sao Paulo, 7 May (Argus) — A empresa brasileira de fertilizantes Superbac entrou com pedido no Tribunal de Justiça do estado de São Paulo (TJ-SP) para renegociar dívidas com credores e bloquear temporariamente os pagamentos por 60 dias, de acordo com solicitação arquivada em 3 de maio. O pedido, feito para a 1ª Vara de Falências e Recuperação Judicial de São Paulo, não é uma solicitação formal de recuperação judicial, mas sinaliza que a Superbac poderá solicitar o processo no futuro. De acordo com a petição inicial, a razão para a interrupção é uma "dificuldade financeira momentânea, porém reversível". A empresa afirma no pedido que a suspensão dos pagamentos é essencial para preservar os ativos da Superbac. Os pagamentos apenas beneficiariam um pequeno grupo de credores e colocariam a empresa em risco, informou a empresa. A dívida total da Superbac é de cerca de R$650 milhões. Em meio aos credores mencionados no arquivo, estão empresas de fertilizantes como a BPC; bancos como BTG, Santander, Daycoval e XP; fundos de investimentos; e empresas de logística como Multitrans e Coocatrans. A XP adquiriu uma participação na Superbac em julho de 2023, totalizando R$300 milhões. Localizada em Cotia, em São Paulo, a Superbac é uma empresa de biotecnologia, fundada em 1995, com operações em diferentes setores, como agricultura, fertilizantes e biofertilizantes, petróleo, gás e saneamento básico. A Superbac corresponde por 50pc dos fertilizantes organominerais e 6pc dos fertilizantes especiais no Brasil, de acordo com a petição. A empresa informou que a queda global no preço das commodities está prejudicando seu crescimento, uma vez que o setor de agricultura representa 99pc de sua receita. A Superbac tem uma fábrica de fertilizantes organominerais no Paraná, assim como centros de pesquisa nos Estados Unidos, Colômbia, Israel e Singapura. Por João Petrini Envie comentários e solicite mais informações em feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . Todos os direitos reservados.
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more