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The
Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), an industry regulator, told
Reuters on Monday countries should slow the use of the edible
oil as biofuel to ensure adequate supply for use in food,
warning of a supply crisis following Indonesia's ban.
"Any knee jerk reaction to ban biofuels derived from vegetable
oils would cause havoc in the global vegetable oil market," the
Malaysian Biodiesel Association (MBA) said in a statement.
Malaysia is mainly an export-oriented market with a small
domestic market, the MBA said.
"As such, Malaysia should not reduce or stop its biodiesel
mandate as the biodiesel industry hardly consumes 1 million
tonnes of palm oil annually; against over 40 million tonnes used
globally," it added.
Indonesia, the world's biggest exporter of the versatile oil
found in everything from biodiesel to chocolates, plans from
Thursday to stop shipments of refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD)
palm olein.
It will allow exports of crude palm oil or other derivative
products, but said it is prepared to widen its ban if it faces
domestic shortages of derivatives used in the production of
cooking oil.
Indonesia and Malaysia are the world's top palm oil producers,
accounting for around 85% of global output.
Both countries make it mandatory for biodiesel to contain a
certain amount of palm oil - 30% and 20% respectively - and just
last month said they remain committed to those mandates, despite
higher palm prices due to impacts of the war in Ukraine.
Other countries also have mandates and make biofuels from plant
oils like corn and soy, with demand booming in recent years due
to climate change mitigation efforts.
(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)
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