Shipments of sustainable palm oil to Europe surge

Here is an interesting article regarding Palm Oil. This is very good news and should make it easier to source sustainable palm locally, rather than having to have it shipped to me from half way across the country (adding to the environmental footprint)

Here is the Article

CERTIFIED sustainable palm oil shipments from exporters like Malaysia to Europe have surged in January, matching production levels, said the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

Close to 120,000 tonnes of sustainable palm oil or matching certificates were traded using the GreenPalm and UTZ Certified trading programmes, it said in its latest newsletter.

"About the same volume of sustainable palm oil was produced in January by RSPO-certified oil mills and their supply base, bringing the market uptake for that month to a whopping 98 per cent."

The global organisation estimates that production will increase with "much oil from 2009 still readily available" to product manufacturers and retailers.

According to GreenPalm, the supply of RSPO certified palm oil is now substantial, thanks to the hard work palm oil producers are putting in to meet the RSPO's challenging and rigorous sustainability standards.

Another two palm oil plantations, PT Hindoli and the IOI Corp Bhd (Pamol Sabah Palm Oil Mill) have both passed their RSPO 'Principles & Criteria' sustainability audits.

In November 2009, 34 operating units from 11 companies including Sime Darby, IOI and Kulim have been certified with a production capacity of 1.75 million tonnes of sustainable palm oil for the year.

Late last year, purchasing sustainable palm oil became even more attractive thanks to GreenPalm and UTZ Certified lowering their transaction fees to US$2 (RM?? ) per tonne of sustainable palm oil.

Many palm oil traders are preparing to begin trading sustainable palm oil, according to Bas Geerts, head of business development of Amsterdam-based UTZ Certified, which traces sustainable palm oil up until final refinery.

"In recent months, we have seen many players start to trade volumes of sustainable palm oil to experience first-hand the ease of our traceability system," said Geerts.

"Many others are demonstrating their interest by requesting to participate in one of our Web training sessions, which include a demonstration of the system."