• Bloomberg reported that Malaysia is looking to ease a labour crunch that has choked its key plantation and manufacturing industries by hastening the hiring of migrant workers. The country is expected to hire nearly 180,000 workers in the next 6 weeks. The Human Resources Ministry received 519,937 applications as of 7 April from various employers across industries. About 24,500 workers are due to complete their interviews by 27 April with another 150,000 expected to enter the country in 6 weeks after their verification process.

• According to Bloomberg also, Indonesia has detained suspects including the commissioner of a Wilmar International unit and a senior trade ministry official as part of a corruption case involving palm oil exports. The case involves the approval of export permits that did not meet requirements and a lack of local palm oil distribution as required by the domestic market obligation (DMO) rule. The DMO policy has since been scrapped. An official with Wilmar said the group firmly believes that it had complied with all applicable regulations at all times with respect to the licences. The group will cooperate in the investigations.

• Reuters quoted customs data as showing that China imported lesser soybeans in March than a year earlier as bad weather delayed exports from Brazil and poor crush margins curbed demand. China brought in 6.4mil tonnes of soybeans in March, down 18% from 7.8mil tonnes in March 2021. Shipments in 1Q2022 were down 4.2% from a year earlier at 20.3mil tonnes.

• The Star reported that prices of grain corn and soybean meals, which are the two main feed for chickens, have increased by 13% and 11% respectively since January. The was among the matters discussed during a special meeting held between the Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry (MAFI) and the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry on 15 April. MAFI is currently actively providing subsidies to broiler chicken breeders and layer chicken breeders involving RM528.5mil throughout the Malaysian Family Maximum Price Control Scheme period.

• Euractiv.com reported that Greens EU lawmakers have sent a formal letter requesting that the European Commission provide data on the origins and quantities of used cooking oil (UCO) imported into the bloc. Addressing the heads of the commission’s environment, transport and green deal portfolios, the five lawmakers highlighted a recent report by the International Council on Clean Transportation that suggested much of the UCO that was imported into the EU may be fraudulent, with restricted palm oil used to bulk up batches. On 10 March, the European Parliament adopted stricter standards for certification schemes, imposing more stringent controls on the UCO supply chain. Brussels has also pledged to roll out its much delayed “track and trace” biofuels database by 1 January 2023. The database will record all feedstock and biofuel transactions, allowing regulators and customers to validate the sustainability of biofuels.

Source: AmInvest Research - 25 Apr 2022