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PalmTrack—Sep 2022 Wrap Up

Here is a wrap up of the some of the issues PalmTrack covered in Sep 2022:

  1. Malaysia plantation labour issues seem to be escalating. There is now worrying talk about destination market checks and signs that at-risk suppliers are facing buyer jitters. Indonesia suppliers may gain. This is amidst heightened problems for authorities to deal smoothly with migrant labour recruitment compliant with Indonesia, Bangladesh, and other requirements.

  2. Going by Malaysia’s palm oil production in the last 15 years, it is clear that yield-productivity management is in a major rut, a warning to producers in other countries. The more recent ups-and downs seem to be driven more by the climate cycle of El Niño dry/La Niña wet than anything else, at least at the aggregate level. Read more on PalmTrack.

  3. HCPO or high FFA CPO is the big new trend at palm oil mills. The processing of loose and rejected fruits gives a product with 35-40% FFA that suits HVO and more. But Malaysia’s unfavourable pricing for loose fruit is likely to hinder its supply. Indonesia prices a premium for loose fruits and buyers should see better prospects here. We talked to specialists to find out more.

  4. BOM officially declared a La Niña on 13 Sep 2022. However, the meteorological agency has stated that projections indicate this third dip to be short-lived and is expecting the phenomenon to peter out by early 2023.

  5. The EU Parliament has adopted the proposal on deforestation-free products. The regulation aims to eliminate deforestation in the import supply chain for the EU for several key commodities and products, including palm oil and soy.


Khor Reports’ PalmTrack is an independent research service that tracks palm tanker movements and reports trade of palm products (and shipments, upon request) for selected trade routes. It features a forward-looking market topic and sharp analysis every quarter, e.g. palm biofuels issues & opportunities for Jan–Mar 2022. Subscribe now!

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Boba Boom - Part 2: Rise of the Health-Consciousness

Back in November 2019, Khor Reports studied the bubble tea (Boba) trend in Malaysia and the sugar level in the beverages. Click here to read it.

Momentum Works and qlub recently published a report, “Bubble Tea in Southeast Asia”. It is estimated that the 2021 market size for Boba in South East Asia alone is US$3.66 billion. Clearly, this Boba trend is not dying out anytime soon. With newer brands launching, this is still an ever-growing market.

Khor Reports previously tracked the sugar level of beverages in Malaysia and found out that one serving of bubble tea is double the amount of the daily recommended sugar intake. In 2019, 1 out of 5 adults in Malaysia has diabetes and about 3.9 million people are above the age of 18. This is a worrying trend. The prevalence of diabetes is also an upward movement from 2011 to 2019. So, what measures can be taken to tackle this issue?  

Looking at Singapore, the Health Minister recently announced that Food & Beverages (F&B) outlets preparing freshly brewed beverages are to include a nutritional label on their menu to indicate the sugar level of the beverages and certain beverages are not prohibited from being advertised. Beverages falling under Grade C or D, such as Boba, will be affected by the advertising prohibition as most of their beverages have high sugar content.

As consumers become more health conscious, they may soon start opting for beverages with Grade A or B. Shops will need to revamp their menu or change the amount of sugar used in their beverages in order to attract those consumers. To reverse the trend of diabetes incidences, Malaysia should adopt this policy to encourage its citizens to choose healthier beverages option.

Wong Ivan, Guest Writer | 4 Oct 2022