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AgBiotech & Environment

It would not be too outlandish to suggest that cardiologist Datuk Dr. Zainuddin Wazir, owner of the northern region’s largest Cavendish banana producers as being bananas over bananas. By merging his passion for the fruit despite continuing his practice as a heart surgeon, he has been greatly successful in cultivating and marketing the fruit on a large scale. In fact, he is also mindful of the fact that the high fiber content of the fruit may help prevent heart disease as well.

 
   

With the many industrial signatories of the Kyoto Protocol failing to reach their emission reduction target, BioX Group Asia will be focusing on providing them with certification for Certified Emissions Reduction, which represent the amount of reductions in significant gas emissions. A 50 tonnes per hour mill may generate up to more than 30,000 CERs per year, which is each sold via the European Union Trading System at a current market price of around 26 to 27 euros. The activity environmentally and financially viable as the trapped gas may also be burnt to generate electricity for plant operations.

 
Industry & Investment
A Japanese company is aiming to introduce a new source of biofuel to the market, from agricultural wastes of the oil palm industry. Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. has sent its team to conduct a feasibility study to focus on the possibility of bioethanol production from oil palm wastes like oil palm trunks, empty fruit bunches, kernel shells and fibrous fruit wastes. Plans are on the way to seeing Mitsui build a pilot plant in two years and commence testing and trail operation by 2010.
 

More companies are committing themselves into the biodiesel goldrush as market trends search for sources of alternative fuels. Golden Hope Plantations Bhd. is no different with four facilities planned to begin commercial production latest by end of 2007. Already there is interest in the product, with a Japanese customer anticipating shipments of 2,000 to 3,000 tonnes monthly and plans to reach out towards other European markets as well. Similarly, Kumpulan Guthrie has announced it will be taking its initial plunge into the fray by the building of a plant in Malaysia or Indonesia.
                 
In other news, Malaysia Debt Ventures has renewed its offer to support the fledgling biotech industry by providing adequate funding to sustain business beyond the R&D stage. Much optimism has been expressed as the Ninth Malaysia Plan is providing solid support as well as important links to the industry at large. Probably it is now time for researchers to mull the advice of working with entrepreneurs suggested by Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon
Policy & Medical
 
With the recent high growth in the Agriculture sector, of 7.2%, there was much optimism in the air professing the success of government strategies in place boosting the sector. In fact, new measures including contract farming will be introduced by the country to increase food production in a greater manner. The participating farmers would be selling all products to prospective buyers identified by the ministry so that they would have a ready market for the produce.
On another note, biofuel testing in Sarawak has shown great promise whereby express bus operators running on biofuels had no complaints over the alternative fuel source. With the buses plying the rugged and winding Pan Borneo Highway of Sarawak being the major test subject, a log book was used to record the use of Envo Diesel detailing vehicular performance during the trail period. However, despite such successes, the Government has decided to freeze the approval of biodiesel licenses, as the recent surge in interest has seen a deluge of biodiesel projects which have the potential of eating into the portion of crude palm oil reserves meant for food and oleochemical production.
In another first for Malaysia, Malaysian Bio-Diagnostics Research Sdn. Bhd. has announced a faster and cheaper way to diagnose the onset of tuberculosis through its EZTBPCR kit which will be launched on August 11th. Not only will it cut the waiting time of almost a month down to merely three hours, the kit is user-friendly and will be 30% cheaper than the conventional procedure. Clinical evaluation of the kit is being conducted in Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and the Philippines, while local evaluation would be done by the Institute for Medical Research.