Malaysian Palm Oil Research Articles

Comparison between Solar-Powered and Diesel-Driven Water Pumping Systems for Oil-Palm Irrigation Plantations

This paper presents a comprehensive comparative study between solar-powered and diesel-driven water pumping systems for irrigating oil palm plantations in the dry regions of Malaysia. The study aims to address the need for sustainable and efficient water pumping systems in these areas, considering the costs and environmental impact associated with traditional diesel-driven systems. The research specifically focuses on evaluating the feasibility and effectiveness of solar-powered systems as an alternative to diesel-driven systems in the context of Malaysian oil palm plantations. The study employs the HOMER software to evaluate the feasibility and performance of solar-powered water pumping systems in comparison to conventional diesel-driven systems. The research methodology involves collecting data on oil-palm plantations in dry regions and obtaining relevant meteorological data. Subsequently, solar-powered water pumping systems are modeled and simulated using the HOMER software. A comparative analysis is then conducted, considering factors of electrical and economic performances, to evaluate the feasibility and benefits of solar energy for irrigation in Malaysian oil palm plantations. The findings of the study indicate that the configurations of the system without a battery is the most satisfactory, as it demonstrates decent electrical generation, and economic attractiveness with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 17% and a payback period of 5.72 years. Implementing this configuration of the solar-powered water pumping system offers various advantages, including providing adequate water for boosting plantation production, enhancing sustainability, offering environmental benefits, achieving cost savings, and ensuring economic viability. These findings can assist decision-makers in considering the implementation of solar-powered irrigation systems in Malaysian oil palm plantations.

The Effectiveness of Palm Oil Policies in Nigeria: An Experience from Malaysian Palm Oil Policies

The tropical forest of West Africa is initially the first area where the oil palm was discovered before the 14th century. In particular, Nigeria was one of the places where this fruit was uncovered. Palm oil is ranked as the major vegetable oil in the world. In the 1960s, Nigeria was rated as the largest palm oil-producing and exporting country globally. However, the production was completely unsuccessful as a result of the government’s failure to formulate good policies, while the local consumption increases. Oil palm production in Malaysia became a contributing sector to the national economy. It alleviates poverty, provides employment, allocates resources, generates incomes, and leads to economic development. Due to good and sustainable palm oil policies in this sector, Malaysia achieved global recognition. This paper’s objective is to disclose the ineffective policies on palm oil in Nigeria and its sustainability in Malaysia. This paper is a qualitative design, it used primary and secondary methods. The primary method is based on a semi-structured interview, while the secondary method is based on documents. It adopted inductive thematic analysis for analysing interview data with the help of Atlas ti. This paper’s finding is the unsuccessful palm oil policies in Nigeria and the sustainable palm oil policies in Malaysia.In conclusion, there is a need for Nigeria, to learn from the Malaysian experience.

Does farmer’s institution matter for sustainable certification? case in Indonesia and Malaysian oil palm smallholders

Abstract Smallholders are a crucial part of the Indonesian and Malaysian palm oil industry. However, both lack economies of scale ownership individually. Therefore, institutions have become a crucial aspect. Sustainable certification is one of the most relevant aspects of managing economies of scale. This study was conducted to analyse the institutional aspect of sustainable certification. Data were collected from 1080 smallholders in 18 districts in Indonesia and Malaysia. This data was then analysed through nine business model components, namely key resources, cost structure, revenue stream, value proposition, channel, customer segment, customer relationship, key partners, and key activities. Institutions were grouped into non-groups, non-economic groups, and economic groups of smallholders. The results show that economic groups appear to have the highest certification percentage. They receive higher prices from direct sales to the ramp or mills and better FFB quality. Non-economic groups are competitive in economies of scale, as 3 out of 4 types of group institutions are in merged forms. The non-grouped smallholders strengthen the needs of institutions for smallholders to be certified and enjoy the economic benefits through good partnerships, which could be improved by achieving economies of scale and reaping its benefits.

Macroeconomics Factors Affecting Net Exports of Oil Palm Industry in Malaysia

This quantitative study investigates the impact of oil palm production, oil palm pricing, inflation, and GDP growth rate on the net exports of Malaysia's oil palm industry. This research is aimed at analyzing how the net export of oil palm relates to certain macroeconomic variables. This study has employed multiple regression analysis through Ordinary Least Squares for 26 years of time series data from 1996 to 2020 in Malaysia. The findings from this study improve our understanding of the major factors contributing to net exports in the oil palm industry. Palm oil production, price, as well as GDP growth, drive net export of palm oil in Malaysia found during this research. An increase in production leads to the reduced amount of palm oil exported, all other things remaining constant. Conversely, inflation and GDP growth are major drivers behind the increased net export of palm oil.

The Influence of Extrinsic Motivation and Cross-Cultural Adjustment on Foreign Worker Commitment: The Mediating Role of Cross-Cultural Adjustment and Moderating Role of Employer Trust

Palm oil is a key income source in Malaysia, with the industry heavily reliant on foreign workers. This reliance necessitates a focus on their welfare to address workforce shortages. This study examines the relationship between extrinsic motivation and organizational commitment, mediated by cross-cultural adjustment and moderated by employer trust among foreign workers. This study employed a quantitative research design, using SPSS for data analysis, and surveyed 242 foreign workers from companies listed on the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) website in 2022, achieving a 100% response rate. The key findings show that organizational commitment positively influences extrinsic motivation, with cross-cultural adjustment significantly enhancing both. Employer trust moderates the relationship between organizational commitment and cross-cultural adjustment, underscoring its importance in cultural adaptation and motivation. These insights highlight the need for targeted strategies to improve job satisfaction and retention among foreign workers by addressing extrinsic motivational factors and cultural adaptation challenges. The research contributes to the literature by detailing the interplay of organizational factors and cultural adaptation in shaping motivational outcomes, suggesting future research to explore longitudinal studies and other moderating variables. These findings offer valuable implications for improving workforce performance and retention strategies in the palm oil industry.

The Benefits of the Adoption of Smart Agriculture in Oil Palm Estates: A Qualitative Study

Palm oil is an incredibly efficient crop because it is a natural, renewable resource with multiple uses. It is used in food, cosmetics and even biofuel. It is used in food products, detergents, cosmetics and even biofuel. The palm oil industry employs millions of people and is an essential source of income for many developing countries. Smart agriculture is the future for Malaysian oil palm plantations via the adoption of new technology. It will provide a solid foundation for precision agriculture to increase productivity in oil palm production. The purpose of this study is to discover the benefits of smart agriculture in oil palm estates in Malaysia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to obtain an in-depth understanding of the benefits of the technology in oil palm estate. Interviews were conducted with a total of twelve estate managers and assistant managers of oil palm estates in Malaysia. The interview was transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Based on the findings, the participant mentioned that the use of smart agriculture technology has helped the estate in terms of increasing efficiency, reducing labour use and saving time. Therefore, with these transformative technologies, the oil palm industry will continue to thrive to ensure that this industry remains viable and sustainable.

Validity and Reliability of the Oil Palm Fertilizer Infographic Mobile App Module to Enhance Knowledge Practices in Palm Fertilization among Smallholders

Implementing best practices in oil palm fertilisation is pivotal for enhancing fresh fruit bunch production within the oil palm cultivation sector. However, small-scale farmers in Malaysia still encounter a notable deficiency in understanding fertiliser management. Therefore, providing easily accessible and comprehensible sources of palm fertilisation information is crucial, with a focus on materials containing verified and dependable content from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB). This study aims to evaluate the validity and reliability of the oil palm fertiliser infographic mobile app module for smallholders. The module’s content was made simpler by referring to multiple documentation sources regarding recommended palm fertilisers by the Agronomic Unit of the MPOB. The infographic module is designed to encourage best practices in palm fertilisation for smallholders through a user-friendly mobile app platform. A module draft was submitted to five specialists in palm fertiliser and module development to assess its validity. Several improvements were made based on the comments and feedback gained from these experts. 55 individuals, including smallholders, contributed to evaluating the module’s reliability and the impact of the knowledge practices in palm fertilisation. The entire module’s content attained a validity rate of 90%, confirming the acceptance of its content validity. Furthermore, the module recorded a Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.981, indicating a high level of reliability. The utilisation of this module within the mobile app platform suggests that the application could effectively improve users’ knowledge of palm oil fertilisation practices. These findings demonstrated that the Infographic Oil Palm Fertilizer is appropriate and successful in achieving the intended learning objectives.

Removal of ammoniacal nitrogen from Malaysian palm oil mill effluent (POME) using optimized operating parameters of peat soil as natural adsorbent

Nowadays, the use of natural absorbents to remove pollutants from POME has gained remarkable attention. The main objective of this study is to investigate the suitability and performance of modified peat soil as an adsorbent for the removal of NH3-N from POME. The chemical activation method was performed using readily available NaOH for the first time to improve the adsorption performance of naturally available low-cost peat soil. The physical properties of raw and modified peat soil were determined using water-holding capacity, moisture content, bulk density, porosity, and BET surface area. The adsorbents were also characterized by SEM and FTIR to investigate surface morphology and chemical composition. To optimize the experimental parameters namely adsorbent dosage, agitation rate, and contact time for removal of NH3-N from POME, response surface methodology (RSM) was employed in this study with two different activation ratios. Substantial improvement of physical properties was attained after the modification of raw peat soil. The SEM images of modified peat soil showed a more porous space structure with larger voids while the FT-IR demonstrated the distinctive functional groups in the raw and modified peat soil. At optimized conditions of 5.71 g/L adsorbent dosage, 50 rpm agitation rate, and 38.96 min contact time predicted removal efficiency of NH3-N has been revealed 64.06 and 58.74 % at 1:20 and 1:30 activation ratios, respectively. The experimental investigation using optimized parameters showed 69.12 ± 2.5 and 61.57 ± 4.3 % removal of NH3-N. The experimental and predicted results showed good agreement. The rapid removal of NH3-N (69.1 % within 39 min) was achieved by chemically modified peat soil in this study compared to previously reported studies. Nevertheless, the raw and modified peat soil showed good stability up to three cycles of reusability.

The position of Indonesia’s palm oil in the vegetable oil international market

Abstract The increase in global crude oil prices and awareness of energy sustainability are driving the development of the biofuel industry. Palm oil has high productivity and competitive prices compared to other vegetable oils, encouraging competition among major palm oil exporters and significant vegetable oils. The research examines factors influencing Indonesia’s position in the global vegetable oil competition and assesses how economic shocks impact Indonesian palm oil competitiveness. This study utilized the Almost Ideal Demand System model on secondary data in the time series period of 1990-2022. The research results showed that the increase in global income is the most influential factor in the rise in the market share of Indonesian palm oil. The increase in crude oil prices favored the position of Indonesian palm oil compared to Malaysia. Fluctuations in Malaysian palm oil prices could affect the competitiveness of Indonesian palm oil. Malaysia’s palm oil, soybean oil, and sunflower oil are more complementary than Indonesia’s. Indonesia needs to collaborate with significant vegetable oil exporters, to create a palm oil commodity exchange, and to synchronize policies from upstream to downstream to ensure the fulfillment of domestic and export palm oil needs.

Nonlinear impacts of climate anomalies on oil palm productivity

Oil palm contributes to various global needs as one of the most productive oil crops, but there exist ongoing concerns regarding its yield reductions and associated environmental impacts resulting from land conversion. This is the first detailed report investigating the nonlinear threats to estate-level oil palm yields posed by El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, a major driver of climate variability. Using the Malaysian Palm Oil Board administrative records on monthly performances reported by oil palm estates through the e-submissions portal spanning from January 2015 to June 2023, we focused on elucidating the impacts of ENSO on fresh fruit bunch yield, oil extraction rate, and oil yield. We found that both El Niño and La Niña conditions, characterized by extreme levels of ENSO indices cumulated over lags of 0–23 months prior to harvest, were associated with statistically significant reductions in yields. Lag association patterns unveiled that production risks were linked to pre-harvest exposure to extreme ENSO indices in various time windows. Subgroup analyses further revealed that the effects were pronounced in labor-intensive estates and those lacking fertilizer investments. This study underscores the necessity for adaptation strategies in response to future climate anomalies.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CURRENT BIOMASS UTILISATION BY PALM OIL MILLS IN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

Oil palm biomass, which includes empty fruit bunches (EFB), mesocarp fibres (MF), palm kernel shells (PKS), and palm oil mill effluent (POME), are no longer seen as low-value residue, but as valuable economic resources that may contribute positively to national wealth. These oil palm biomasses can be converted into high value-added products, which can in turn generate additional revenue for the country. This study aims to identify the current biomass utilisation by palm oil mills in Peninsular Malaysia and examine the economic viability of biomass products generated by these mills across different categories. This study uses primary data obtained through a census of all 242 Malaysian Palm Oil Board-licensed palm oil mills in Peninsular Malaysia. The data were analysed using descriptive analysis and independent samples t-test. The study found that incineration is the most profitable approach for EFB, followed by selling EFB to other parties. However, due to environmental regulation and the lack of market for EFB, most of the resources (62.4%) were either returned to plantations or sent to landfills. In addition, 92.4% of MF generated were utilised for electricity generation through in-house boilers and this alternative has been proven to provide maximum profit to palm oil mills. The study also found that although selling PKS to other parties was proven to provide better profits to the palm oil mills, the PKS were mostly utilised for electricity generation through in-house boilers. Lastly, for the sludge from POME, there was no significant difference in the utilisation of the sludge, either if it was used for plantations or sold to other parties.

THE EUROPEAN UNION DEFORESTATION-FREE REGULATION (EUDR): ASSESSING IMPACTS AND STRATEGIES FOR MALAYSIAN AND THE GLOBAL OIL PALM INDUSTRY

The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is an EU initiative that limits deforestation and forest degradation caused by forestry and agricultural activities worldwide. The EUDR entered into force on 29 June 2023 and will generally apply on 30 December 2024 and 30 June 2025 for micro or small businesses. This study focused on exploring the probable impacts of the EUDR on the palm oil market and later specifically focused on the Malaysian palm oil industry. By integrating the findings from a PESTLE analysis, which evaluates the political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors that impact the global palm oil market, and a SWOT analysis, which categorises the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the Malaysian palm oil industry, this study delivers a holistic understanding of the challenges and opportunities brought forth by the EUDR. The findings showed that implementing the EUDR in the oil palm industry has wide-ranging consequences. The analysis sheds light on the multifaceted impacts of sustainability regulations on a crucial global commodity and offers valuable insights for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and researchers.

Development and validation of an oil palm model for a wide range of planting densities and soil textures in Malaysian growing conditions

A semi-mechanistic oil palm growth and yield model called Sawit.jl was developed to account for a wide range of planting densities and soil textures under Malaysia's climate conditions. The model comprises components related to meteorology, photosynthesis, energy balance, soil water content, and crop growth. The model simulates instantaneous meteorological properties using daily weather data, calculates simultaneous evaporation from crop and soil with the Shuttleworth-Wallace model, determines soil water content through Darcy's law, and adapts a biochemical C3 model for photosynthesis. The model is also parameterized using updated measurements from the newer tenera oil palm, including temperature-dependent Rubisco kinetics, specific leaf area, and the partitioning of nutrients and dry matter between various tree parts. Sawit.jl was validated using historical field measurement data from seven Malaysian oil palm sites, encompassing palm ages spanning 1–23 years. These seven sites differed in soil type (Inceptisols and Ultisols), planting density (82–299 palms ha−1), soil texture (27–59 % clay and 7–67 % sand), and rainfall (1800–2800 mm yr−1). The model showed overall good accuracy in simulating oil palm parameters (except for trunk weight) across diverse conditions, with model agreement metrics ranging from 6 to 27 % for model absolute errors, −22 to +17 % for model bias, and 0.38 to 0.98 for the Kling-Gupta Efficiency index. The model also predicted the response of oil palm yield to abrupt rainfall changes, such as those during El Niño and La Niña events, while accounting for how soil texture, rainfall, and other meteorological factors influence water deficits and crop photosynthesis. However, model accuracy varied by site, planting density, and oil palm parameter. Model accuracy can be increased by more accurately representing the oil palm microclimate, incorporating fruiting activity, and refining the dry matter partitioning mechanism for the trunk.

Determinants of Malaysian palm oil export efficiency: A gravity stochastic frontier model

Determinants of Malaysian palm oil export efficiency: A gravity stochastic frontier model

Narrative Analysis Of European Union Deforestation Regulations On Indonesian And Malaysian Palm Oil Commodities

The implementation of the EU Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products is the current problem point, so the study refers to implementing deforestation regulation for certain trade goods or commodities. This study provides a brief overview of the EU Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products. The study also aims to examine the development of ASEAN’s trade pattern, especially Indonesia and Malaysia, with the European Union, which will be reviewed below. In order to facilitate the analysis of the European Union’s green economic policies, particularly the impact of the EU Regulation on deforestation-free products, the study needs to develop a research question. How does the EU Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products hinder trade in Indonesian and Malaysian palm oil derivatives and products? Moreover, how about a fair recommendation for solving this problem? Case studies and research on the issue of trade in palm oil commodities in the European Union have been carried out a lot. However, the discussed study tries to provide an argumentative explanation using a narrative analysis approach.

Assessing the efficacy of utilizing biochar derived from oil palm biomass as a planting medium for promoting the growth and development of oil palm seedlings

The recent adoption of biochar in Malaysia's oil palm industry offers numerous benefits, including soil enhancement, resource efficiency improvement, pollution remediation, and greenhouse gas mitigation. With approximately 66.15% of agricultural land dedicated to oil palm cultivation, a substantial amount of biomass, mainly from empty fruit bunch (EFB) and mesocarp fibre (MF), is generated. This study focused on carbonizing MF and EFB at temperatures ranging from 580 to 695 °C to produce biochar. The assessment of biochar's effectiveness as a planting medium in nurseries revealed significantly accelerated growth rates in seedlings cultivated in a composite of biochar and soil. At 8 months-after-treatment (MAT), the BMF-75 treatment showed remarkable growth enhancements, with the highest increase in height (64.9%), number of leaflets (60.5%), and girth size (55.3%) compared to the initial values at 3 MAT, indicating its effectiveness in promoting growth in oil palm seedlings. Additionally, compared to the control group, the biochar-mixed media resulted in favourable outcomes regarding the assimilation of both macro- and micro-nutrients. For instance, nitrogen uptake increased by 2.7% with BMF-50, magnesium by 25.2%, phosphorus by 24.1% with BEFB-75, calcium by 36.8% with BMF-75, chlorine by 10.5% with BMF-50, iron by 25.5% with BEFB-25, copper by 20.1% with BMF-25, and zinc by 6.3% with BMF-25. Additionally, biochar-treated soil exhibited higher organic carbon content, improved cation exchange capacity (CEC), enhanced nitrogen retention with greater biochar proportions, and likely improved soil fertility due to biochar's porous structure. Further potential research can be explored to investigate its long-term effects on oil palm plantation.

Analysis of current state, gaps, and opportunities for technologies in the Malaysian oil palm estates and palm oil mills towards net-zero emissions

Malaysia is the second largest producer and exporter of palm oil. Though several works have explored achieving emissions reduction in the palm oil sector, there existing gaps in analysing pathways for achieving net-zero emissions. Moreover, there are limited studies that evaluate the potential of palm oil biomass utilisation pathways based on emissions reduction capabilities, the cost of emissions reduction, and the technology readiness for implementation. Therefore, this study analysed decarbonisation pathways for the upstream and midstream segments of the palm oil sector in Malaysia, encompassing oil palm plantations and palm oil mills. Various sources of greenhouse gas emissions in oil palm plantations and palm oil mills were identified and estimates of emissions were determined as theoretical emissions. The current emissions were established based on the current best practice in the plantation and mill. Several biomass conversion technologies for the recovery of palm-based by-products and conversion into value-added products to decarbonise the palm oil sector and evaluated strategies to attain net-zero status are considered. In this work, the analysis considered both the existing technologies that are adopted by plantations and mills as well as the emerging technologies that have scope for implementation. With the proposed approach, the current emissions level for crude palm oil (CPO) production in Malaysia is estimated as 1121.49 kg CO2-eq/t CPO. In current industry practice, empty fruit bunch (EFB) is underutilised as mills are typically located at rural areas with lack of suitable transportation. Besides, the lack of accessibility to the grid also limits the potential of converting EFB into electricity as supply for national grid. This work examined various pathways for EFB utilisation under different scenarios evaluating their contribution potential towards net-zero target in an energy self-sustained CPO production. As shown in the results, converting EFB to briquettes and pellets are able to achieve the net-zero objective. Furthermore, EFB-biochar and EFB-syngas pathways also exhibit the potential to accomplish the net-zero target. Note that this work also assessed the technologies’ readiness levels, identified challenges in implementation, and proposed several recommendations.

Prospect of Biodiesel from Sludge Palm Oil in Malaysia

High feedstock costs make biodiesel production impractical and economically unfeasible, particularly as most feedstocks are unknown for performance. Waste oil, such as sludge palm oil (SPO), may be used to produce biodiesel. This study examined the efficiency and prospect of Sludge Palm Oil Biodiesel (SPOB) production from SPO through transesterification. One-step and two-step transesterification methods were performed for SPOB conversion. However, only a two-step method was effective in converting SPO into SPOB. SPO's high free fatty acid (FFA) content necessitated a two-step process to reduce FFAs to less than 4% before SPOB conversion. Step 1 yielded 78% SPOB at 2 hours, 0.03:1 acid catalyst–to–oil, and 8:1 alcohol–to–oil. The optimal SPOB yield for step 2 at 4 hours, 0.01:1 alkaline catalyst–to–oil, and 9:1 alcohol–to–oil was 78%. SPOB components were analyzed using FTIR with SPOB having a 1435.04 cm-1 methyl peak. The diesel engine performance test mixed SPOB with mineral diesel at different concentrations with 30% SPOB blends in mineral diesel offers the lowest fuel consumption (0.1089 ml/s), maximum braking horsepower (24.9266 rpm), and best mechanical efficiency. Density, flash point, and heating value were also tested to identify SPOB's physical characteristics and discussed in detail.

Physicochemical characterisation and kinetic modelling of wet torrefied oil palm trunk in pyrolysis condition

AbstractOver 218 million tonnes of oil palm trunks (OPT) waste is produced annually by Malaysian oil palm industry, which can be converted to biofuels via wet torrefaction. This study assessed the fuel characteristics of wet torrefied OPT (WT‐OPT) using proximate analysis, higher heating value (HHV) analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive X–ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDX). Increasing wet torrefaction temperature and residence time increased the fixed carbon content and HHV of OPT. SEM–EDX revealed the presence of microspheres of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (5‐HMF) in OPT wet torrefied at 180 and 220°C for 72 h, an intermediate compound that can contribute to the HHV enhancement in WT‐OPT. FTIR and EDX results revealed that higher temperature and residence time concentrate the carbon content of OPT. Wet torrefaction at 180°C for 72 h decreased the activation energy and pre‐exponential factor of OPT from 301.88 to 171.70 kJ mol−1 and from 4.43 × 1028 to 3.25 × 1012 s−1, respectively, during pyrolysis. The estimated thermodynamic parameters, particularly the change in entropy which generally decreased by more than 140 J mol−1 K−1, indicated increase in stability of certain WT‐OPT.

Analysis of Malaysia's Export Potential of Palm Oil and Its Products to RCEP Member Countries

This study explores the export potential of the Malaysian palm oil industry to RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) member countries based on the regional economic framework. The panel data from 2018 to 2022 were analyzed using the Trade Gravity Model, RCA (Revealed Comparative Advantage), and TCI (Trade Complementarity Index) indices. The results categorize the fifteen RCEP member countries into three potential classes based on the type of potential. In addition, it was found that the trade complementarity of RCEP member countries showed a significant positive correlation with the export size of Malaysian palm oil and its products. The study provides insights into the trade pattern of palm oil in the region and provides a valuable reference for future trade policy formulation and industry development and provides a basis for research related to the sustainable development of the Malaysian palm oil industry.