Officials in Malaysia have announced that they will take action against fraud in the export of used cooking oil.
Malaysia's deputy commodities minister said that it would crack down on fraud within the used cooking oil sector, while western governments investigated whether the shipments of biofuels from Asia contained virgin oil.
According to Deputy Plantation and Commodities Ministry Chan Foong Hin, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board is revising its policies and standards governing palm industry waste (SPO), also known as used cooking oil. This will help to distinguish between them and prevent discrepancies when exporting.
In an interview with The Star on Thursday, he stated that the government was strengthening enforcement mechanisms in order to maintain industry credibility and Malaysia’s reputation as a reliable exporter. He added that complaints by buyers could threaten Malaysia's position as a UCO exporter.
He said that tracing the entire supply chain would help combat fraud.
Traceability is at the heart of the issue. How can you trace the entire supply chain? Chan replied.
Last year, the European biodiesel sector complained about a sudden surge of imports from China. It believes that supplies labeled as being made with recycled fat and oil are actually produced using cheaper virgin oil.
Last month, Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil producer and its neighbor, decided to limit exports of UCO, palm oil residues, and UCO-based products. They claimed that recent shipments had exceeded production capacities, which indicated virgin crude palm (CPO) was mixed in.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced in August that it had launched investigations into at least two renewable energy producers' supply chains, without naming them, amid concerns from the industry that some companies may have used fraudulent biodiesel to obtain lucrative government subsidies.
DEFORESTATION REGULATIONS
Chan stated that Malaysia's palm sector, which is the second largest in the world, shouldn't view the EU deforestation regulations negatively, as the country has a commitment to anti-deforestation.
Chan stated that about 87% of Malaysian palm oil plantations have been certified sustainable through the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil standards (MSPO).
He said, "We are in fact ready."
The EU approved in December a one-year extension to the landmark law on deforestation, which requires importers of products such as soy, beef and cocoa to show that their supply chains don't contribute to the destruction or the world forests.
Chan downplayed the decline in palm oil shipments to India, which reached a 14-year high in January. He called it a "short-term" situation, given that its 1,45 billion people have a demand for palm oil.
In 2024, India will import 3.03 million metric tonnes of Malaysian palm oils, an increase of 6.5%.
The population is the constant factor. "Yes, we're still optimistic," Chan replied.
(source: Reuters)
