For week ending April 22, 2010

       Other products performed as follows: coco shell charcoal 2,108 MT (+59.1% from 1,325 MT year-ago), activated carbon 1,426 MT (-33.5% from 2,145 MT), glycerin 1,850 MT (+275.4% from 493 MT), fresh coconuts 65 MT (-59.9% from 162 MT), Others 1,876 MT ( 34.4% from 2,862 MT).

       Apart from Europe, US, and Malaysia, other buyers of crude coconut oil during the month were China with 7,500 MT, Iran with 298 MT and Taiwan with 215 MT. Next to the US, second biggest importer of cochin oil was Japan with 2,930 MT, while limited amount at 19 MT was importer by China. On the other hand, Iran was the largest buyer of RBD oil in January with 997 MT, followed by China 279 MT, Taiwan 215 MT, Pakistan 142 MT, Russia 89 MT, Singapore 71 MT, Israel 63 MT, Bangladesh 37 MT, and Vietnam 15 MT.

       In the case of copra meal with total shipment of 88,940 MT during the month, Korea maintained its position as leading buyer with purchases at 41,307 MT (46.4%). Similarly, Vietnam was second major importer with 20,724 MT (23.3%), with China a strong third at 19,650 MT (22.1%). A good volume at 5,500 MT went to Pakistan (6.2%). Other destinations were Taiwan 690 MT, Australia 477 MT, New Zealand 400 MT, Japan 176 MT and India 17 MT.

       Export of desiccated coconut in January at 7,903 MT went to 40 various countries. The US remained a market leader with uptake at 1,555 MT (19.7%), trailed by Belgium with 1,372 MT (17.4%) and Netherlands 932 MT (11.8%). Sixteen other countries also took in substantial volume in the range 100-472 MT and jointly comprised 42.2% of the market, namely in descending order: France, Canada, Australia, Germany, United Kingdom, Turkey, Brazil, Russia, Israel, Japan, Venezuela, Egypt, Taiwan, Korea, South Africa, and Chile. On the other hand, 21 countries with combined import of 709 MT (8.9%) took in much smaller volume from a low of 290 kilos to a high of 77 MT.

       In contrast, activated carbon export during the month at 1,426 MT had 21 market destinations, the top five being responsible for over two-thirds (67.5%). Leading the pack was Ghana with 286 MT (20.1%), followed by Japan with 263 MT (18.5%), Indonesia 179 MT (12.5%), US 134 MT (9.4%), and Belgium 100 MT (7.0%). The remaining 16 other countries with combined market share of 32.5% for a total uptake of 464 MT had purchases ranging 3-66 MT.

       Mr. Arranza explained that a five-percent blend would require an estimated 350,000 MT of crude coconut oil annually which translate to only 23 percent of the annual crude coconut oil production in the country at 1.5 million MT. The volume can very well be supplied by the various coconut oil mills. CIIF is pushing for the increase in the blend to increase the non-traditional market for coconut oil which would, in turn, benefit more than three million coconut farmers in the country, he added. Besides, increasing the use of coconut oil would also substantially contribute to the reduction of pollution in the country brought about by the use of fossil fuel.

       The new smart delivery system includes gold nanoparticles attached to surfaces of lauric-acid filled nano-bombs. The gold nanoparticles keep the nano-bombs (liposomes) from fusing together. The gold nanoparticles also help the liposomes locate acne-causing bacteria based on the skin microenvironment, including pH. Once the nano-bombs reach the bacterial membranes, the acidic microenvironment causes the gold nanoparticles to drop off, thus freeing the liposomes carrying lauric acid payloads to fuse with bacterial membranes and kill the Propionibacterium acnes bacteria. ?Precisely controlled nano-scale delivery of drugs that are applied topically to the skin could significantly improve the treatment of skin bacterial infections. By delivering drugs directly to the bacteria of interest, we hope to boost antimicrobial efficacy and minimize off-target adverse effects,? said Zhang. ?All building blocks of the nano-bombs are either natural products or have been approved for clinical use, which means these nano-bombs are likely to be tested on humans in the near future.?

       ?Total import in January-February this year stood at 135,600 MT, a substantial growth by 64.0% from volume imported in a similar period last year at 82,700 MT. Of this total palm kernel oil was 80,600 MT (65,900 MT) and coconut oil 55,000 MT (16,800 MT) for respective shares of 59.4% and 40.6%. Import of coconut oil gained by a whopping 228% while palm kernel at 22.3%.

       Since the segregated supply chain, the ability to keep sustainable palm oil separate from non-sustainable from plantation through to finished products, is still relatively undeveloped, Unilever argues that the GreenPalm scheme is a viable alternative in the meantime. Gavin Neath, Unilever?s senior vice president of global communications and sustainability said: ?Until sustainable segregated supply chains become available, GreenPalm certificates are the best option to encourage growers to comply with the requirements of the RSPO and certify their plantation as sustainable.?

       The multi-stakeholders Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has been working towards turning the supply chain around towards sustainable practices. However, the complexity of commodity supply chains makes its difficult to ensure sustainably produced oil is segregated from non-sustainable oil. In order to prepare the market and meet demand, two interim schemes have been in operation: (1) Book and Claim, which allows manufacturers to buy GreenPalm vouchers equivalent to the palm oil volumes they are using, but the actual oil they receive is not certified. (2) Mass Balance, a proportion of the oil received is certified sustainable. At present, segregated palm oil commands a premium of 5-10% over the price of non-segregated palm oil.