Page 8 - Malaysia Exporters of Biomass & Related Services Directory

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National Income (GNI). In the process of
creating this value, a significant amount
of biomass is generated every year
across a variety of crops, including but not
limited to palm oil, rubber and rice.
Within this sector, by far the largest
contributor to GNI is the palm oil,
contributing about 8% or almost RM50
billion to the national income. The palm
oil sector correspondingly generates the
largest amount of biomass, estimated
at 80million dry tonnes of ‘woody’ biomass
in 2010. This is expected to increase
to about 100 million dry tonnes by
2020, primarily driven by increases in
yield. As a result, the National Biomass
Strategy 2020 (NBS 2020) was launched
in November 2011 with a focus on oil palm
biomass as a starting point, which is being
extended to include biomass from other
sources like forestry, other agricultural
by-products and municipal waste.
The vast majority of the oil palm biomass
generated today is returned to the field
to release its nutrients and replenish the
soil. The biomass returned to the field
as organic fertiliser plays an important
role to ensure the sustainability of
fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yields. However
there is also the potential to utilise
(portions of) this biomass for a variety
of additional higher value uses, including
but not limited to the production of
wood products, energy pellets, bioenergy,
biofuels (i.e. ethanol) and biobased
chemicals (i.e. succinic acids and lactic
acids). Due care and consideration are
made to balance the amount of biomass
that is left in the field for its nutrient
value versus that utilised for higher
value-added uses.
While the opportunities are immense,
the different uses have very different
risk-return profiles, given the differences
in technological maturities, global demand
potential and its competitive dynamics.
Not surprisingly, the highest-value
opportunities – biofuels and biobased
chemicals – carry also the highest
technology uncertainty and competitive
risk.
Malaysia’s NBS 2020 promotes the critical
importance and significance of having a
portfolio approach for Malaysian biomass
producers and the nation at large, to
ensure there is a combination of short to
medium-term investments into immediate
opportunities and longer-term investment
in higher value-added opportunities for all
Malaysian biomass owners.
T he agriculture sector in Malaysia
generates about 11% of Gross
Industry Overview