Taninthayi Agriculture Dept planning to set up edible oil refinery plant

The importation of low-quality cooking oil is spotted in the domestic market. Subsequently, Taninthayi Region’s Agriculture Department stepped up to set up an edible oil refinery plant to ensure the quality and safety of edible oil.
Myanmar brings in 400,000-600,000 tonnes of palm oil from international markets. Yet, some are found to have low grades.
“As palm oil is cheaper, low-income people mostly consume it. As long as it is processed and qualified to be sold in the market, palm oil is safe to consume. Some unscrupulous traders import palm oil of low quality through illegitimate trade.  Some utilized hazardous substances to prevent the palm oil from solidifying, posing health risks. Palm oil is widely consumed worldwide.  However, it is important to test iodine value to measure saturation and unsaturation levels in oil,” U Thein Soe, deputy head of the department, said.
“Oil palm can be grown only in Taninthayi Region. Myanmar needs an edible oil refinery to produce healthy cooking oil. The expansion of oil palm cultivation has land issues. We have to consider some factors: forest conservation, substituting unprofitable old rubber trees with oil palm, infertile land, and vacant, virgin and fallow land. The most commercially valued tree is oil palm, which is commonly found in Thailand and Malaysia. Growers are not interested in oil palm as the market is about 200 miles away from them. High transport costs hindered them from growing oil palm. To tackle this problem, a plan to establish an oil refinery in Myeik District is underway,” he added.
According to the Agriculture Department, there are six crude edible oil processing factories in the Dawei, Myeik, Bokpyin, and Kawthoung districts.
“To construct a crude oil factory with a production capacity of 30 tonnes per hour, it costs about K5,000 million. For an edible oil refinery, the capital is estimated at US$15 million. That plant can produce 150 tonnes of refined oil, along with 30 tonnes of crude oil,” an official of Myeik district elaborated.
The oil palm is primarily found in Myeik, Bokpyin and Kawthoung districts. The refinery and crude oil processing plants can promote oil palm cultivation. Growers suggested that the factories should be developed near the oil palm cultivation areas.
Taninthayi Region has favourable weather and land conditions to achieve oil palm cultivation, attracting both domestic and foreign investors. There are almost 400,000 acres of oil palm in the region. — Myint Oo (Myeik)/EM