• Bloomberg reported that Argentina will temporarily increase the proportion of biodiesel used in diesel to 12.5% from 5% for 60 days. The blending proportion will remain permanently at 7.5% from 5% after 60 days. The additional 2.5 percentage points would be provided by SMEs that currently supply to refiners.

• S&P Global Platts reported that palm oil’s discount to soybean oil reached a 6-week high of US$282.21/tonne on 14 June as palm prices softened after Indonesia lifted the export ban and stepped up palm shipments. A persistently wide discount between palm oil and soybean oil increases palm’s competitiveness against soybean oil. For many months prior to June, palm oil maintained a relatively high premium over bean oil, hitting a record premium of US$400/tonne in February following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

• The Star quoted Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin as saying that local palm oil producers should wean off reliance on Indonesian and Bangladeshi foreign workers amid the severe shortage of 120,000 workers. She added that plantation owners must be more open to workers from countries like India and Pakistan and not be too dependent on workers from Indonesia and Bangladesh. Zuraida assured the Malaysian Estate Owners Association that her ministry is currently working closely with other ministries such as the Human Resources Ministry, Wisma Putra, Immigration Department and Co-operative Commission to look into ways to expeditiously resolve the labour shortage issue.

• The Star also reported that a study on raising the ceiling price of sugar is under way. A government official said that a report was expected to be tabled in the Cabinet after consultation with various stakeholders within a year. Sugar industry players including MSM Malaysia Holdings urged the government to review the ceiling price of sugar amid rising raw material and freight costs.

• Biodiesel Magazine reported that the US House of Representatives voted 221 to 204 in favour of the Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act, a legislative package that includes funding for biodiesel infrastructure and a provision to allow year-round sales of E15. The bill authorises U$$200mil for fiscal years 2022F and 2023F to support biofuel infrastructure upgrades as well as distribution and sale of fuel blends containing more than 10% ethanol including E15.

• Progressive Farmer DTN said that retail prices tracked by DTN for the first week of June showed that prices of most fertiliser products continued to be lower compared with the prior month. This was the second week that most prices were lower after 19 months of mainly high prices. While 7 of the 8 major fertiliser prices were lower than last month, none were down by more than 5%. Potash price was US$880/tonne in the week of 6 to 10 June compared with US$881/tonne in the week of 9 to 13 May.

Source: AmInvest Research - 27 Jun 2022