The Philippine Biodiesel Manufacturers Association (PBMA) recently elected the following officers for the current year: President - Mr. Jose Ermelo S. Santos (Senbel Fine Chemicals); Vice President - Mr. Romulo Awayan (Rasza Agro Produce Corp.); Treasurer - Ms. Eleanor Tantuco (Pure Essence Int?l Inc.); Secretary - Ms. Katrina Tolentino (Lipitech Inc.).

       Merly M. Cruz, undersecretary, Regional Operations Development Group, Department of Trade and Industry told reporters recently that a Japanese firm is looking at leasing up to 50,000 hectares in the Philippines to grow and process sunflowers into cooking oil and biofuel. Sun Care Fuels Corp. has begun test operations on a three-hectare plot within a university in Mindanao. The firm has chosen to go into sunflower oil for biofuel as the crop, which emits nitrogen into the soil, is suitable for rotation planting and ensures that the soil remains fertile.

       Senator Edgardo Angara, Senate Committee on Science and Technology chairman, has filed Senate Bill 3139, which allows the total research and development (R&D) cost and prices of shares of stocks in biotechnology companies as tax deductible. The bill seeks to propel the biotechnology industry in the country by offering the private sector incentives to invest in biotechnology R&D and building a biotechnology center. Through the bill, a Philippine Bio-industry Research and Development Center would be established to promote availability of suitable, innovative and competitive bio-based technologies. He observed the 21st century is the biotech century, noting the early years would pave way for convergence of agriculture and medicine with pharmaceuticals being produced by genetically engineered plants and the greater acceptance of herbal medicine.

       Figures from USDA show United States import of lauric oil in January this year was up by 15.8% to 83,567 MT from 72,143 MT at the same time year-ago. The increase was due to the massive rise in palm kernel oil uptake by 61.6% to 40,450 MT from 25,037 MT year-ago. However, despite a decline, coconut oil still accounted for a bigger share of 51.6% or 43,117 MT (47,106 MT in the prior year). Palm kernel oil represented 48.4%.

       Jonathan Sulubu, managing director of state corporation Kenya Coconut Development Authority (KCDA) said the Government of Kenya has drafted a four year strategic plan to be launched next month to turn coconut into a commercial crop. The Authority, created in 2007, will also put into place the legal framework to regulate the industry, he added. KCDA will use the research findings of the survey carried out by the Institution Development and Management Services (IDM) and involve the private sector in turning around the coconut sector. He explained that they have already started negotiating with financial institutions which is expected to play a key role in reviving the industry.

       A study led by John S. Witte, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California San Francisco, found that omega-3 fatty acids appear protective against advanced prostate cancer, and this effect may be modified by a genetic variant in the COX-2 gene. The report was published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association of Cancer Research. According to Witte, previous research has shown protection against prostate cancer, but this is one of the first studies to show protection against advanced prostate cancer and interaction with COX-2.

       In the study, researchers performed a case-control analysis of 466 men diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer and 478 healthy men. Diet was assessed by a food frequency questionnaire and researchers genotyped nine COX-2 single nucleotide polymorphisms. Researchers divided omega-3 fatty acid intake into four groups based on quartiles of intake. Men who consumed the highest amount of long chain omega-3 fatty acids had 63 percent reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancer compared to men with the lowest amount of long chain omega-3 fatty acids.

       The China National Grain and Oils Information Center (CNGOIC) in its latest report says the country?s soybean import will continue to rise following expectations that the lower soybean prices would boost demand from domestic processing plants in the following several weeks. The report predicts China?s soybean import to reach 3.8-4.0 million tons in April.

       Boeing Co. and Airbus say they are pushing ahead with plans to develop planes that run on eco-friendly biofuels despite economic crunch. However, the firms are not planning on making their own alternative fuels but are working with ethanol and other biofuel producers to make planes ready for the new technologies in the coming decades. The sharp drop in oil prices since the start of the global recession and plummeting passenger numbers are not enough reasons to diminish efforts in research and development, Christian Dumas, vice president for sustainable development at the Toulouse, France-based Airbus said, adding that the airline industry has to think long-term because an aircrafts? life span is typically 30 to 35 years.