The document summarizes oils and fats developments in China in 2013. It reported that China's GDP grew 7.7% while CPI grew 2.6%, slightly lower than estimated. Several controversies occurred in China's food and oils & fats industry including bans on excessive government spending, dead pigs found in a river, and bird flu. Total oils and fats imports to China slightly decreased in 2013 as market prices declined and domestic demand reduced, lowering imports of soybean and palm oils. However, rapeseed oil imports increased due to higher domestic demand.

1. Introduction
In early 2013, the state government of
China report of 2013 projected that GDP
for the country was expected to rise by
7.5% and CPI by about 3.5%. Based on
latest data from National Bureau of
Statistics it showed that the growth of
China's GDP was at 7.7% in 2013, and
the total import and export value was
over US $4 trillion, thus China's economy
showed a stead and optimistic trend. On
the other hand, CPI in 2013 was 2.6%
higher than 2012, whose amount of
increase was basically equal to 2012
from 2011 and lower than estimated in
the beginning of 2013 (Charts 1 & 2).
What's more, the average price of pork in
2013 was only 0.3% higher than 2012,
which was basically stable. As a basic
necessity, oils & fats consumption in
2013 was not spared from the sluggish
economy situation in China.
Oils and Fats – Controversies in China
In 2013 much was reported about
China's foods and oils & fats industry.
Among the newsmakers are:
- Official Chinese banquets have come
under greater scrutiny in recent years
amid public anger at excessive
government spending on such events.
- Nearly 6,000 dead pigs were found
floating in the Huangpu River in
Shanghai in last March.
- The bird flu H7N9 break out in April.
- Thousands of tonnes of imported
rapeseed oil were found purchased by
- Sinograin illegally.
The news about new purchase policy of
domestic soybean was reported in the
year end. On the other hand, there was
also news in the international oils and fat
market, such as the drought in Indonesia,
which led to the declined supply of
Indonesian palm oil to Chinese market.
Oils and Fats Situation in China
These events caused some impact on
China's oils and fat import business. Data
from Chinese Custom showed that
China's total oils and fat import volume
was slightly decreased in 2013. On one
hand because that the market price of
edible oil declined continuously, the
financing difficulty rose and domestic
demand for edible oil reduced, the import
volume of soybean oil and palm oil
decreased. On the other hand the import
volume of rapeseed oil increased, mainly
because the government purchase for
MPOC FORTUNE
MALAYSIAN PALM OIL COUNCIL KKDN PP 14669/05/2013 (032704) VOL: 6 2014
®
DIRECTOR
Faudzy Asrafudeen Sayed Mohamed
faudzy@mpoc.org.my
MANAGERS
Muhammad Kharibi Zainal Ariffin
kharibi@mpoc.org.my
Mohd Izham Hassan
izham@mpoc.org.my
MARKET ANALYSTS
Asia Pacific Lim Teck Chaii
(China) lim@mpoc.org.my
Asia Pacific Mohd Hafezh Bin Abdul Rahman
(Excl. China) mhafezh@mpoc.org.my
South Asia Fatimah Zaharah Md Nan
fatimah@mpoc.org.my
Middle-East Mohamad Suhaili Hambali
msuhaili@mpoc.org.my
Africa Nor Iskahar Nordin
iskahar@mpoc.org.my
Europe Azriyah Azian
azriyah@mpoc.org.my
Americas Mohd Izham Hassan
izham@mpoc.org.my
MARKETING & MARKET
DEVELOPMENT DIVISION
For more information, please contact
Tel : 603 - 7806 4097 Fax: 603 - 7806 2272
Continued on page 6
Source: National Bureau of Statistic, China
16.0%
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
10.0%
12.0%
14.0%
18.0%
20.0%
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
2011 2011 2011 2011 2012 2012 2012 2012 2013 2013 2013 2013
GDP Growth (%)
Chart 1: China GDP Growth (2011 - 2013)
Source: National Bureau of Statistic, China
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
CPI
Chart 2: China CPI Performance (2011 - 2013)
Jan-11
Apr-11
Jul-11
Oct-11
Jan-12
Apr-12
Jul-12
Oct-12
Jan-13
Apr-13
Jul-13
Oct-13
Jan-14
China - Oils and Fats Development in 2013

3. MPOC FORTUNE • 3
MARKETInsightsIns g
Palm oil scenario in South Africa
Most of the palm oil products imported
are in the form of the RBD palm stearin
and RBD palm olein. These two products
accounted for more than 60 per cent of
Malaysia’s exports in 2013. RBD palm
olein mainly goes into edible applications
such as production of margarine and for
deep frying purposes, while RBD palm
stearin and palm fatty acid distillate are
imported for soaps and laundry soaps
production. Besides these, South Africa
also imports some finished palm oil
products from Malaysia, such as
shortening, soap noodles and margarine.
South Africa is basically a liquid oil
market. Cooking oil accounts for about 40
to 45 per cent of the total oils and fats
usage in the country, with sunflower
dominating this market, followed by the
soybean oil, corn oil and olive oil. South
Africa’s cooking oil market is estimated at
350,000 metric tonnes annually. The solid
fat sector (margarine and shortening),
accounts for about 20 to 25 per cent.
Various types of margarine and
shortening are produced in the country,
basically table margarine, bakery and
pastry margarine and shortening.
Estimates from trade sources show that
household margarine consumption
estimated around 245,000 metric tonnes
of various grades range from low fat to
industrial grades.
Growing health concerns are likely to
boost the sale of spreadable oils and fats
at the expense of butter. The major oils
are typically based on blends of palm oil,
sunflower oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil
and fish oil. In the confectionery fat
segment, market size is estimated at
40,000 metric tonnes annually and most
of the requirement is imported from
Malaysia as the local manufacturers do
not have the facility and expertise to
produce it. The snack food industry is
another growing consumer of oils, with
between 50,000 to 70,000 metric tonnes
being used annually. The food service
industry is another sector which could
provide greater opportunities for palm oil
on the basis that food operators are
actively seeking quality and
competively-priced products. The soap
sector accounts for nearly 150,000
tonnes of oils and fats annually, namely of
palm oil and tallow but of late palm oil has
replaced a large volume of tallow in this
sector.
With the Gross Domestic Product
continuing to grow, it is likely to result in
rising disposable incomes and wider
demand for food products (Table: 1).
South Africa is expected to remain a net
importer of oils and fats due to the
minimal increase in domestic production
and growing demand for oils and fats.
Port of Durban as a Gateway
The southern part of Africa accounts for
22 per cent of the total population of
Africa. Its consumption of oils and fats,
which amounted to about 2 million metric
tonnes in 2013, made up one-third of the
continent’s usage (Table: 2). Per capita
consumption within Southern Africa is
estimated at 12kg, which is still below the
world’s average consumption of 26kg.
South Africa has the advantage of having
a well-developed transportation and
communications infrastructure to support
the efficient distribution of imported
goods.
South Africa’s major port of Durban can
serve as an important gateway for
Malaysian export to regional markets,
especially to the landlocked countries of
Africa. South Africa can also produce its
own finished products from palm oil for
re-export to the neighbouring countries.
In 2013, Malaysia registered about
370,500 metric tonnes compared to
360,070 in 2012 an increase by 2.9
percent. (Table: 3)
Market Drivers for Growth
The size of the population and low per
capita oils and fats consumption in this
region provide a strong basis for
increased demand in the coming years.
The fact still remain that this region is not
self-sufficient in producing its oils and fats
requirements underscores the
importance of imports – and palm oil has
an important role to play in this area.
Palm oil has positioned itself as the one
Port of Durban:
Reaching out to
Southern Africa Region
This key port occupies at vital crossroads on the
trade routes between East and West, at the tip of
Africa is also suited to take advantage of the
growing maritime trade between the growing
economics of South America and Asia.
Table 1: South Africa’s Macroeconomic Indicator
Indicator 2012 2013 2014f 2015f 2016f 2017f
Nominal GDP (US$bn) 384.4 360.4 361.3 429.8 522.3 584.8
GDP per capita (US$) 7,339 6,829 6,799 8,035 9,702 10,795
Real GDP Growth (%) 2.5 2.1 2.5 3.0 3.2 3.3
Source: South Africa Reserve Bank and Business Monitor
Table 2: Oils and Fats Requirement in Southern Africa
Population Consumption Imports Per Capita
(mil) (‘000 MT) (000) Consumption (kg)
South Africa 50.7 1,291 926.8 25.5
Zimbabwe 13.0 175.7 135.6 13.5
Zambia 11.6 57 56 5
Madagascar 21.9 78 76.9 3.6
Namibia 2.0 na na na
Botswana 2.1 na na na
Angola 18.5 266.2 218.6 13.2
Mozambique 24.5 163.2 132.8 6.7
Malawi 14.0 63.7 13.2 4.6
Source: Oil World Annual 2013
Continued on page 12
Part 2 of 2

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5. Palm oil as a biofuel
The EU’s regulatory framework affecting
biofuels is to be framed within the EU’s
strategy to tackle climate change, which
has required, and is leading to, the
adoption of (inter alia) a classification of
biofuels based on their production
methods or carbon footprints.
Directive 98/70/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 13
October 1998 relating to the quality of
petrol and diesel fuels and amending
Council Directive 93/12/EEC (hereinafter,
the Fuel Quality Directive) provides, in
relevant part, a framework for EU
Member States to reduce by 6% the
greenhouse gas intensity of
transportation fuels by 2020. In addition,
Directive 2009/28/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 23 April
2009 on the promotion of the use of
energy from renewable sources and
amending and subsequently repealing
Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC
(hereinafter, the Renewable Energy
Directive) establishes a common
framework for the promotion of energy
from renewable sources in the EU by
setting mandatory national overall targets
and measures to promote the use of
energy from renewable sources, in order
to reduce emissions and to achieve the
EU’s climate change and energy policy
objectives. In relevant part, the
Renewable Energy Directive establishes
that 10% of the energy used for transport
in the EU should originate from
renewable sources by 2020.
While promoting the use of energy from
renewable sources, such as biofuels, as
a tool to combat climate change, the Fuel
Quality Directive and the Renewable
Energy Directive cater for sustainability
criteria that apply to biofuels, which have
a clear impact on international trade in
such products, including on palm
oil-based biodiesel. The sustainability
criteria are directed at avoiding that an
increase in demand for such energy
sources, as well as the incentives
provided for their use, lead to the
destruction of biodiversity or result in
other counterproductive effects for the
environment. They are based on two
drivers: 1) biofuels must reach a
greenhouse gas emissions’ saving
threshold of at least 35% with respect to
the greenhouse gas emissions that would
have resulted from using fossil fuels (as
of 2017, this target will increase to 50%
for existing installations and 60% for new
installations); and 2) the land used to
produce biofuels must have certain
characteristics (i.e., not have high
biodiversity value nor high carbon stock).
Biofuels that do not meet the
sustainability requirements are still
allowed in the EU market, but are not
eligible for achieving compliance with
renewable energy national targets set by
EU legislation and are not entitled to
financial support. This has a clear impact
on the importation in, and marketing
within, the EU of biofuels that are defined
as ‘unsustainable’, operating as a barrier
to trade (de facto if not de jure) and
resulting in trade discrimination, in
possible violation of WTO rules. The
actual implementation of the
sustainability criteria may have clear
discriminatory effects, inasmuch as
compliance therewith may, in certain
instances, be particularly burdensome for
certain types of biofuels (i.e., those
attributed default values that are lower
than the 35% required greenhouse gas
saving threshold, like palm oil-based
biodiesel or soybean biodiesel) or for
certain exporters (those that are not
certified under a scheme recognised by
the EU), as shown by the WTO dispute
triggered by Argentina against the EU
before the WTO.
Similar considerations also apply to the
EU’s proposed amendment to the Fuel
Quality Directive and the Renewable
Energy Directive (the so-called ‘ILUC
proposal’), which was aimed at
addressing the emissions arising from
the impact of indirect land use change
(ILUC) on greenhouse gas emissions
(i.e., those created as a result of
increased land demand for the
production of biofuels, where such land
could have been used for food, feed or
fibre production). This proposed
amendment would operate a further
classification of biofuels into ‘first
generation’ biofuels and ‘advanced
biofuels’, with the latter set to receive a
more favourable treatment in the EU
market. In addition, if approved, it would
“Palm Oil and
EU Market:
Key Issues and
Actions by MPOC”
Part 2 of 2
MPOC FORTUNE • 5
Continued on page 9
MARKETInsightsIns g

6. 6 • MPOC FORTUNE
domestic rapeseed oil was predicted to
increase and then would increase the
profit of trading the imported rapeseed
oil. Notably, the import volume of
sunflower oil rose nearly 3 times, even
though its domestic production remained
steady as 183 MT, basically equal to the
early years.
Since China's oils & fats market is so
large, China's domestic oils & fats
production has to increase year after
year. Data published by Oil World
showed that China’s production was
25.34 million MT, the highest recorded in
the last five years. The steady increase in
production was mainly due to rising
demand for oilmeals to produce animal
feed. As soybean’s protein content is
most price competitive, this led to higher
increase in soybean oil production. In
recent years, China's oilseed planting
areas and oilseeds production declined
because of the high costs, low crushing
profit and imperfect government
management policy. The planting areas
of soybean, rapeseed and cotton seed in
2012/2013 was 9.38%, which was 2.1%
and 7.68% lower than a year ago
respectively, and the domestic oilseeds
production of soybean and rapeseed in
2012/213 was 10.64% which was 2.34%
lower than a year ago.
Among all the oilseeds, rapeseed
planting remained stable owing to the
government policy of direct purchase. On
the other hand, domestic soybean and
cotton seed were squeezed by the
imported soybean and sustaining the
planting activities was more difficult. But it
was reported in the beginning of 2014
that the government would implement a
new purchase policy for domestic
soybean and cotton seed, which
attracted much attention. While
production of oilseeds is stagnating, the
import volume of oilseed seems
increased (Tables 1 to 3)
As Tables 4 and Table 5 illustrate,
soybean oil import declined but soybean
import increased in 2013. The decline in
soybean oil could be attributed to two
reasons. One was that the edible oil price
was sharply reduced in 2013, and the
purchasing price between the imported
crude soybean oil and salad oil went on
widening throughout the year, which
reduced the traders' confidence and the
trading amount of soybean oil. Another
reason was Chinese Government's
policy of reducing public expenditure on
meals reduced the consumption and
need for soybean oil.
Table 1: Planted Area of Oilseeds
(’000 Ha) 2011-2012 2012-2013
Soybean 7,780 7,050
Rapeseed 7,150 7,000
Groundnut 4,604 4,731
Cotton seed 5,037 4,650
Sunflower seed 960 950
Sesame seed 480 490
Linseed 322 350
Castor seed 180 100
Total 26,513 25,321
Source: Oil World
Table 2: Domestic Oilseed Production
(’000 MT) 2011-2012 2012-2013
Soybean 14,100 12,600
Rapeseed 12,800 12,500
Groundnut 11,280 11,813
Cottonseed 11,718 11,800
Sunflower seed 1,700 1,730
Sesame seed 587 600
Linseed 359 350
Castor seed 170 90
Total 52,713 51,483
Source: Oil World
Table 3: Domestic Oils & Fats Production
(’000 MT) 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Soybean oil 7,463 8,655 9,621 10,239 10,590
Rapeseed oil 5,305 5,380 5,178 5,452 5,603
Animal fat 4,305 4,462 4,541 4,670 4,755
Groundnut oil 1,904 2,034 2,015 2,029 1,955
Cotton oil 1,747 1,595 1,498 1,636 1,584
other 680 712 665 683 671
Sunflower oil 201 181 180 174 183
Total 21,605 23,019 23,698 24,883 25,341
Source: Oil World
Continued from page 1
MARKETInsightsIns g
China - Oils and Fats
Development in 2013
Continued on page 7
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
1,000MT
Source: Oil World
Sunflower oil
Other
Cotton oil
Groundnut oil
Animal fat
Rapeseed oil
Soybean oil
Chart 3: Domestic Oils & Fats Production

7. MPOC FORTUNE • 7
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
1,000MT
Source: Oil World
Animal fat
Other
Sunflower oil
Lauric oil
Soybean oil
Rapeseed oil
Palm oil
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Chart 4: Imports of Oils & Fats in China
Continued from page 6
MARKETInsightsIns g
China - Oils and Fats
Development in 2013
As for the new high record of imported
soybean, there were three reasons. First
was that the domestic crushing capacity
continued expanding, which led to the
increase in demand for soybean
crushing. Second was that the domestic
soybean planting areas were less and
less in recent years, which the domestic
soybean production and supply also
stagnated, thus more imported soybean
was need. Third was that the domestic
demand for protein was increasing very
fast. Soybean is the most suitable
material to processing protein, thus this
industry also stimulated the increasing
demand for imported soybean.
The rapeseed import volume increased
by 37.21% in 2013 than in 2012, which
also hit the record after 2010. There were
two reasons. One was that in 2013
rapeseed crushing capacity in South
China continuously increased, where the
main region of rapeseed crushing
industry is. Another reason was that the
crushing profit of the imported rapeseed
was much higher than that of domestic
rapeseed, which stimulated the
enthusiasm of crushing enterprises and
the demand for imported rapeseed oil.
Over a period of time, there were three
factors that impacted China's oil and
oilseeds consumption. The first factor
was the absolute demand growth for oils
and oilseed caused by the growing
income and population. The second was
the changing consumption structure
between urban and rural caused by the
growing urbanization, which directly
contributed to the rapid growth of
vegetable oil consumption since 2000.
The last factor was the changing
livestock industry structure, whose raised
commercial proportion led to the rapid
growing demand for protein meal.
In respect of domestic consumption, data
from Oil World showed that edible and
industrial consumption of three major oils
and fats increased slightly, mainly due to
the increased market supply and the
financial pressure from the oil traders.
The total port inventory in the end of 2013
Table 4: Imports of Oils & Fats in China
(’000 MT) 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Palm Oil 5,804 6,557 6,173 6,447 6,071
Rapeseed Oil 985 468 591 1,177 1,527
Soybean Oil 1,341 2,391 1,143 1,826 1,158
Lauric Oil 785 649 562 694 745
Sunflower Oil 137 153 72 107 416
Other 274 180 261 378 353
Animal Fat 424 412 365 299 249
Total 11,759 12,820 11,178 12,940 12,532
Source: Oil World
Table 5: Import of Oilseeds
(’000 MT) 2,009 2,010 2,011 2,012 2,013
Soybean 42546 54786 52,634 58,380 63,405
Rapeseed 3,284 1,600 1,262 2,820 3,663
Sesame Seed 311 391 389 396 442
Linseed 176 218 88 148 181
Groundnut 3 15 154 251 168
Cottonseed - 16 377 394 143
Castor Seed 20 11 13 15 19
Sunflower Seed 2 7 4 3 2
Total 46,342 57,044 54,921 62,407 68,023
Source: Oil World Continued on page 11
Table 6: Domestic Consumption of
Oils & Fats
(’000 MT) 2012 2013
Soybean oil 11,670 11,810
Rapeseed oil 6,033 6,475
Palm oil 6,090 6,239
Lard 3,587 3,650
Groundnut oil 2,075 1,998
Cotton oil 1,630 1,592
Tallow & Grease 1,132 1,075
Palm kern oil 486 630
Sunflower oil 293 569
Castor oil 271 279
Corn oil 229 251
Sesame oil 217 217
Butter, as fat 181 184
Linseed oil 174 160
Coconut oil 208 138
Fish oil 48 72
Olive oil 46 40
Total 34,369 35,379
Source: Oil World

8. Contracts & Arbitration
W o r k s h o p
18th & 19th August 2014
Monday & Tuesday
Jasmine Ballroom, One World Hotel
Bandar Utama, Selangor Darul Ehsan
The Palm Oil Refiners Association of Malaysia
About the Course
This 2 day workshop is designed to provide
fundamental understanding of contracts,
performance and enforcement of contracts and the
practice of dispute resolution in the palm oil
industry. The workshop will cover topics on:
• Understanding the Contract Terms & Clauses.
• Charter Party
• Contract Terms Related to Surveying
• Common Disputes in the Sales & Carriage of
Palm Oil Trade
• Trade Dispute Solving Mechanisms
• PORAM Rules of Arbitration and Appeal
• Case Studies
801C / 802A, Block B, Kelana Business Centre
97, Jalan SS7/2, 47301 Kelana Jaya, Selangor
Tel: 03-7492 0006 Fax: 03-7492 0128
E-mail: poram@poram.org.my
This workshop is beneficial for all oil/fats personnel
who are directly or indirectly involved with
contracts. This workshop is particularly tailored for
traders, marketing executives, operations
managers and executives, procurement officers,
contract & legal department personnel and
individuals wishing to familiarize themselves with
the arbitration process and to receive training as
arbitrators. Details of the workshop can be
downloaded from www.poram.org.my.

9. MPOC FORTUNE • 9
MARKETInsightsIns g
have attributed distinctive ‘ILUC emission
factors’ to biofuels, depending on
whether they originate from: food crops,
and, in such latter instance, whether they
have been produced from cereals, and/or
other starch-rich crops, sugar crops, or oil
crops.
According to the amendment that had
proposed, these ILUC emission factors
would have been relevant for monitoring
purposes only, but they would have most
likely also been factored into the
calculation of the overall ‘environmental
impact’ of biofuels once the EU
framework is revised (i.e., in 2020). Palm
oil-based biofuel, which was attributed,
together with other vegetable oils, the
highest ILUC emission factor, stood to be
particularly affected by this proposed
framework. Such scheme has
temporarily been put aside because of
the new EU Parliament elections, but it is
likely that a new proposal will be put
forward in the months to come along the
same lines.
Within such troubling regulatory context,
EU biofuel producers have also taken
initiatives of their own to drive palm
oil-based (and other) biofuels out of the
EU market. In particular, a number of
trade defence proceedings have been
triggered against imports of biofuels from
a number of different countries, such as
the United States, Argentina and
Indonesia. These actions have recently
led (inter alia) to the adoption of
anti-dumping duties on imports of palm
oil-based biodiesel and soybean
biodiesel into the EU, and pose an
additional challenge for the sale of palm
oil products into the EU. Argentina and
Indonesia have already decided to take
the EU to the WTO over these trade
defence measures and the effects that
they have on their exports to the EU.
What is most relevant, from the
perspective of MPOC and the clear focus
that it has placed so far on trade in palm
oil to the EU as an ingredient to food, is
that these legislative and regulatory
initiatives and proposals inevitably
reinforce the idea, which is growing in
strength and conviction in the mind of the
average EU consumer (and, therefore, of
the average EU legislator and regulator),
that all palm oil is environmentally
unfriendly and unsustainable. If the EU
regulator ‘says so’ and if EU regulatory
schemes are set-up to discourage the
use of palm oil as a biofuel for its poor
environmental record, the private
operators that are increasingly targeting
palm oil with negative labels placed on
food products will feel reassured that
their environmental allegations and
unsubstantiated generalizations are
sound and would not be considered as
deceptive and misleading vis-à-vis
consumers. Therefore, the linkage with
the food side of the trade equation is
evident and a strong stand against the
effects of these EU schemes, as applied
to biofuel production, trade and
utilization, should be taken by MPOC and
Malaysia. These EU criteria are arguably
arbitrary, de facto if not de jure
discriminatory and they harbour
disturbing systemic implications for palm
oil as a whole.
Conclusions
As evidenced by the overview provided in
the sections above, the issues and areas
of concern to palm oil in the EU are many
and keep changing in intensity, scope
and consequences. MPOC has been
engaging on a variety of fronts and with
some initial successes and
achievements. It is clear that challenges
remain and palm oil’s competitors and
detractors will continue to use all the
legal (and, sadly, sometimes illegal)
instruments in their possession to cast a
bad image on palm oil and to gain
competitive advantages.
There is no alternative, but to continue
engaging at all levels (i.e., commercial,
regulatory, legislative, administrative,
judicial, scientific, marketing and
educational) in order to address the
misconceptions that are being fuelled,
cooperate with regulators and legislators
as they define schemes that stand to
affect palm oil, challenge before the
competent administrative or judicial
authorities, when necessary, those
operators that act illegally to mislead
consumers about palm oil, and educate
EU consumers and decision-makers
about the realities and comparative
advantages of palm oil vis-à-vis most
vegetable oils and biofuel crops.
The Government of Malaysia must also
continue assisting MPOC, as appropriate
and in the relevant fora, with its
diplomatic, political and negotiating
instruments vis-à-vis the EU and selected
EU Member States.
The size and the importance of the EU
market, not only commercially, but also in
light of the leading role that, together with
the US, it plays at shaping international
policies, is such that the idea of not taking
action or of abandoning the fight in
frustration from the slow pace of progress
is simply not an option. The EU is a
sophisticated and complex market. The
competitors and detractors of palm oil are
committing important resources to
advance their causes. Clearly, the
underlying commercial interests within
the EU market and beyond are such that
those investments are greatly exceeded
by the economic returns. Kumar, MPOC
Brussels
“Palm Oil and EU Market:
Key Issues and Actions by MPOC”
Continued from page 5

11. MPOC FORTUNE • 11
0
1,000,000
2,000,000
3,000,000
4,000,000
5,000,000
6,000,000
7,000,000
Other
CPO
RBD PST
RBD PL
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Jan-Dec Jan-Dec Jan-Dec Jan-Dec Jan-Dec
Chart 5: Palm Products Imported in China (MT)
Other
Indonesia
Malaysia
0
1,000,000
2,000,000
3,000,000
4,000,000
5,000,000
6,000,000
7,000,000
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Jan-Dec Jan-Dec Jan-Dec Jan-Dec Jan-Dec
Chart 6: Malaysian and Indonesian
Palm Oil Imported in China (MT)
Continued from page 7
MARKETInsightsIns g
China - Oils and Fats
Development in 2013
also increased the inventory growth rate
even higher than that of annual
consumption. The port inventory of palm
oil in the end of 2013 was slightly lower
than 2012, but still far higher than 2011.
(Table 6)
Palm Oil Market
In 2013, palm products imports reported
slight downtrend as compared to 2012,
mainly due to that China imported too
much palm oil in December 2012. Late in
2012 Chinese government published a
policy which at that time was considered
would limit palm oil trades, thus Chinese
traders imported higher volume to avoid
the risk. As the policy was found to have
minimum impact on palm oil trades in
later months, palm oil import volume
returned to normal in 2013.
Among all the palm products, the total
import volume of crude palm oil (CPO)
was much more than last year, as a result
of huge import carried out in January and
February due to the favorable CPO
exported tax structure implemented by
Malaysia. On the other hand, with RBD
PL import declined significantly in
December, its total import volume from
January to December also declined from
a year ago. In 2013, China purchased 3.5
million MT of palm oil from Malaysia, up
by 2% or 68,684 MT over last year.
Meanwhile, Indonesia shipped 2.43
million MT to China, lowered by 15.5% or
445,162 MT from last year. The decline
import of Indonesian palm oil could be
attributed to lower than expected
production growth in the country, led to
slowdown in export volume.
Conclusion
According to the Chinese Government,
China's GDP is likely to grow by 7.6% in
2014. The contribution from
consumption, investment, imports and
exports to the GDP is predicted to be
3.7%, 3.8% and 0.1% respectively. Oils
and fats market in China is entering a
new stage of stability with the rebounded
macro-economy situation and growing
demand. Year 2013 cannot be thought as
a smooth year due to many negative
news about the market and economy but
these experience also forced the
government to enhance the supervision
of food safety, including the oils and fats
industry. Nevertheless, the market forces
combined with business friendly
government policies will help China's oils
and fats market to strike a balance along
the way. It is already reported that the
soybean import business, which was
nearly 5 million MT higher in 2013
compared to 2012, get cool down and
this is reflected in the first quarter in 2014.
As for palm oil, while its business trend is
impacted by many factors such as the
price difference, the planting seasons,
international supplies, the potential for
increase consumption remain intact. This
could be attributed to the limited arable
land to produce enough for local
requirement, while does not want to
solely rely on imported soybean to meet
the supply-demand gap. The current
average per capita oils & fats
consumption is just at 25.5 kg, which
remains far from what strong growing
economy can achieve. Hence, it is
foreseeable that palm oil demand will
continue to grow in future. ■ MPOC
Shanghai
Table 7: Palm Products Imported in China (MT)
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
CPO 590,190 202,357 91,961 59,044 108,931
RBD PL 4,514,414 4,311,076 4,609,263 5,171,771 4,764,673
RBD PST 1,327,047 1,381,897 1,210,945 1,110,743 1,105,341
OTHER 9,940 3,473 347 421 749
Total 6,441,591 5,898,803 5,912,516 6,341,979 5,979,694
Source: General Administration of Customs, China
Table 8: Malaysian and Indonesian Palm Oil Imported in China (MT)
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Malaysia 3,923,823 3,433,783 3,780,091 3,430,954 3,499,638
Indonesia 2,505,599 2,245,164 2,119,214 2,872,800 2,427,638
Other 12,169 219,856 13,211 38,226 52,418
Total 6,441,591 5,898,803 5,912,516 6,341,980 5,979,694
Source: General Administration of Customs, China

12. MPOC
Offices
Worldwide
Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC)
2nd Floor Wisma Sawit
Lot 6, SS 6, Jalan Perbandaran
47301 Kelana Jaya, Selangor
Tel: 603-7806 4097
Fax: 603-7806 2272
www.mpoc.org.my
American Palm Oil Council
1010 Wisconsin Av, Suite 307
Washington DC 20007
Tel: +1 (202) 333 0661
Fax: +1 (202) 333 0331
www.americanpalmoil.com
E-mail: haznita@mpoc.org.my
Contact: Haznita Hussin
MPOC Africa Regional Office
5 Nollsworth Crescent, Nollsworth Park
La Lucia Ridge Office Estate,
La Lucia 4051, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Tel: +27 (31) 5666 171
Fax: +27 (31) 5666 170
E-mail: kazmi@mpoc.org.za
Postal Address:
P.O.Box 1591
M.E.C.C. 4301, South Africa
Contact: Kamal Azmi
MPOC Bangladesh
62-63 Motijheel Commercial Area,
7th Floor, Amin Court Building,
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Tel: +88 (02) 9571 216
Fax: +88 (02) 9551 836
E-mail: fakhrul@mpoc.org.bd
Contact: Fakhrul Alam
MPOC Shanghai
Shanghai Westgate Mall Co. Ltd.
Room 1610B, 1038 Nanjing Rd. (w)
Shanghai 200041, P. R. China
Tel: +86 (21) 6218 2085 / 6218 2513
Fax: +86 (21) 6218 1125
E-mail: teah@mpoc.org.cn
Contact: Teah Yau Kun
MPOC Pakistan
11 – 3rd Floor, Leeds Centre
Main Boulevard Gulberg, 111 Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92 (42) 3571 6600 / 3571 6601
Fax: +92 (42) 3571 6602
E-mail: faisal@mpoc.org.pk
Contact: Faisal Iqbal
MPOC India
S-4, New Mahavir Building, Cumballa Hill Road
Kemps Corner, Mumbai 400 036
Tel: +91 (22) 6655 0755 / 6655 0756
Fax: +91 (22) 6655 0757
E-mail: bhavna@mpoc.org.in
Contact: Bhavna Shah
MPOC Europe Regional Office
31 Avenue Emile Vendervelde
1200 Brussels Belgium
Tel: +32 (2) 7748 860
Fax: +32 (2) 7794 371
E-mail: kumar@mpoc.eu
Contact: Uthaya Kumar
MPOC Moscow
Moscow, 4th Dobrininskiy side-street,
8 BC 'Dobrinya', 1st floor, Office R00-126
Tel: +790 963 520 40
Email: udovenko@mpoc.org.my
Contact: Aleksey Udovenko
MPOC Cairo
3 Gamal E1-Din Afify Street, Nasir City
Zone No.6, 11371 Cairo, Egypt
Tel: +20 (2) 2273 8108
Fax +20 (2) 2273 8106
E-mail: zainuddin@mpocegypt.com
Contact: Zainuddin Hassan
MPOC Istanbul
Guzel Konutlar Sitesi
Dilek Apartment Daire 3
Balmumcu, Besiktas - Istanbul, Turkey
Tel: +90 (212) 2668234
Fax +90 (212) 2668236
E-mail: msuhaili@mpoc.org.my
Contact: Muhamad Suhaili HambaliPublisher: Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC)
2nd Floor Wisma Sawit, Lot 6, SS 6,
Jalan Perbandaran, 47301 Kelana Jaya, Selangor
Printed by: Aktiara Corporation Sdn Bhd
1 & 3, Jalan TPP 1/3, Taman Industri Puchong
Batu 12, 47160 Puchong, Selangor
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of the major oils to complement locally or
regionally produced oils, including sunflower
oil.
Although the demographic factors are
favourable, other circumstances such as
limited purchasing power, fluctuation in
currencies and limited knowledge or negative
perceptions about palm oil are crucial factors
which need to be overcome. However,
despite these challenges, MPOC will
continue to carry out the right promotional
efforts and disseminating the correct
information about palm oil which will
effectively play a vital role in generating
awareness in the region about the good
qualities of palm oil.
It is foreseen that palm oil trade will keep
growing in view of insufficient production of
edible oils among Southern Africa’s countries
and the growing acceptance of palm oil in
these countries. With the existing up-to-date
liquid terminal and bulking infrastructure, Port
of Durban will continue to serve as the
getaway and re-export market for palm oil
trade to landlocked of Southern Africa
countries. Although opportunities are
available, there are constraints before the
rising demands can be tapped. Among the
constraints likely to be faced is the difficulty in
shipping palm oil in bulk as most of the
shipment is done on long term chartered
vessels. Added to this is the lack of
availability of shore tank facilities at port
terminal which is low as most of the facilities
have been contracted out in long term basis.
Hence, new players may consider other
options such as to ship the palm oil in flexi
tank and consumer packed products.
Kamal Azmi Kamarudin, MPOC Durban
Port of Durban: Reaching
out to Southern Africa Region
Continued from page 3
MARKETInsightsIns g
Table 3: Malaysia’s Exports to Southern Africa Region (MT)
Products 2013 2012 Change (Vol) Change (%)
Palm Oil 300,078 299,916 162 -
Palm Kernel 22,233 20,681 1,552 7.5
Oleochemical 41,174 29,766 11,408 38.3
Finished Products 7,092 10,007 -2,915 -29
Total 370,577 360,070 10,507 2.9
Source: MPOB