On September 21, 2022, the 25th Globoil Summit 2022, organized by Tefla’s, was held in Agra, Uttar Pradesh (UP) which saw the participation of 1,500 attendees from 50 countries. This summit was a congregation of leading players from the domestic and global edible oil trade and industry.
- During the summit, the apex edible oil industry associations from five major palm oil importing countries from Asia viz. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal have formed an Asian Palm Oil Alliance (APOA).
- This formation is on the lines of the initiative of the global sustainable agriculture specialist Solidaridad Network.
Chairman & Headquarter of APOA:
Headquarter– APOA secretariat will be initially managed by The Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA) of India.
Chairman– Atul Chaturvedi, Director of Adani Wilmar Ltd and the President of SEA, was elected as the first Chairman of the APOA
- The appointment was made during the first General Body Meeting of the APOA.
About APOA:
This is the first time that apex solvent extractors associations have come together as APOA to empower several Asian countries, for whom palm oil is a source of affordable food and nutrition. It will work globally to ensure that palm oil is recognized as a high-quality, economical and healthy vegetable oil and to change the negative perception about palm oil.
i.In the coming year, the membership would be further expanded to include other select companies or industry organisations operating in the production and/or refining of palm oil in Asia.
ii.APOA is expected to safeguard the economic and business interests of the palm- oil consuming countries.
iii.It will further work towards increasing the consumption of sustainable palm oil in member countries
iv.It will facilitate coordinated efforts of both Asian palm oil producer countries and Palm oil consuming countries for sustainable palm oil.
v.It will also strengthen Asia’s role in palm oil sustainability disclosure.
APOA meeting with Indonesian Palm Oil Representors:
The APOA members held a meeting with the 10-member delegation from the Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs and Indonesia, the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI), and the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) Secretariat to explore joint research to scientifically demonstrate the health benefits of palm oil and also launch joint consumer campaigns in Asian markets.
- The next meeting of APOA is expected to be held in Indonesia early 2023.
Static Points:
i.The Asian markets are responsible for about 40% of global palm oil demand. Europe accounts for about 12% of the market, and the United States (US) for 2%.
ii.India is the largest importer of Palm oil in the Asian region and accounts for 15% of global imports.
- India imports around 13-13.5 million tonnes of edible oils annually, of which around 8-8.5 million tonnes (around 63%) is palm oil.
- Of this, 8-8.5 million tonnes of palm oil, almost 45-47% in recent times came from Indonesia and the remaining from Malaysia.
Recent Related News:
i.The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved ‘Deregulation of Sale of Domestically Produced Crude Oil’, whereby the Government has decided to cease allocation of crude oil and condensate w.e.f. October 1, 2022.
ii.Godrej Agrovet signed three Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Assam, Manipur and Tripura state governments for the development and promotion of oil palm cultivation in the region under the National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) scheme.
