PETALING JAYA: Over 1,800 participants from the global oils and fats fraternity will be attending the four-day International Palm Oil Congress 2009 (PIPOC 2009) beginning today, organised by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB).

The bi-annual event, first initiated in 1984, has grown into the world’s single largest palm oil event deliberating on technological breakthrough and advancements in the oil palm sector as well as on developments affecting the oils and fats industries.

MPOB chairman Datuk Sabri Ahmad said PIPOC had turned into a global forum and a landmark event over the past 25 years as it benchmarked the oil palm industry in terms of advances in research and scientific findings by MPOB, the oil palm industry and other institutions, and provided an update on the latest global palm oil development.

PIPOC 2009, themed “Palm Oil – Balancing Ecologics with Economics,” will focus on palm oil as the powerhouse economy and advances in technological innovations.

Sabri told StarBiz that PIPOC provided a sound platform for palm oil industry players, among others, to share the latest technological research breakthrough and innovations, increasing sustainability challenges and networking among stakeholders from planters, millers, refineries, traders, food processors, oleo and speciality chemicals to non-governmental agencies, government agencies and regulators.

The event will also enable local scientists to interact and share their findings with their international peers and let them progress into more cutting-edge technologies and open up frontier research for the benefit of the industry.

Of late, the world is demanding the development of the palm oil industry is balanced with the conservation of the environment, ecology, biodiversity and reducing

greenhouse gases for sustainability.

Sabri said PIPOC 2009 would focus on sustainability and the environment, cutting-edge technologies and state-of-the-art genome research and downstream value-added product development and also re-engineering the biodiesel industry to ensure profitability and survival. “My expectation will be to see more networking between customers, producers and other stakeholders, and encourage scientists and entrepreneurs to commercialise research findings from MPOB,” he said.

For example, genome research can boost the local palm oil industry to the next level of excellence through systematic breeding to make available new planting materials with potential palm oil yield to eight tonnes per hectare from four tonnes currently.

There have also been breakthroughs in innovation in oil palm planting materials, balanced fertiliser, integrated pest management, biomass utilisation, green energy and oleochemical palm-based products that contribute to environmentally-friendly practices.

Sabri also hoped that PIPOC 2009 could further raise the awareness among big plantation players to accelerate and improve environmental aspects, such as trapping methane gas and methane avoidance through biocomposting.

“It will be good to see the industry moving from commodity based to a more value-added derivatives industry,” he added.

PIPOC 2009, which will be officiated by Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, will have five concurrent conferences and the biggest trade exhibition with 240 booths.

Major highlights include the keynote address on “Palm Oil and Energy: Managing Crisis” by Tun Lim Keng Yaik and an Evening Forum tomorrow chaired by MPOB director-general Datuk Dr Mohd Basri Wahid.

The forum features prominent panellists: head of Indonesian Palm Oil Commission Dr Rosediana Suharto, United Plantations Bhd vice-chairman Datuk Carl Bek-Nielsen, TropBio Research Sdn Bhd executive director and former director-general of Forest Research Institute of Malaysia Tan Sri Dr Salleh Mohd Nor and MPOB director of engineering and processing division Dr Lim Weng Soon.

Rosediana will talk on “Peat Development vis-a-vis Oil Palm: Is It Really Not Sustainable?” while Bek-Nielsen will speak on “Balancing Ecologics and Economics from the Perspective of Social Development.”

Other speakers include Platinum Energy Sdn Bhd group special adviser M.R. Chandran Nair, Rohen Pte Ltd Singapore director Norman Ellard and Britain-based LMC International chairman Dr James Fry.