• World palm oil consumption is significantly rising as suggested by current expectation
• Malaysia is the second largest producer of Crude Palm Oil (CPO)
• The main contributor to biomass sources in Malaysia is the palm industry in which projection shows rising capacity, with an estimated 80 million metric tons current annual oil palm biomass generation
• Composting, pulp and paper industry, wood industry and animal feedstock are some examples of current utilisation of oil-palm biomass

Trends :

• Migration from biofuels to biochemicals in view of huge market potential. Bio-based chemicals market share in the global chemicals market are expected to increase from 9-13% in 2010 to 22-28% in 2025 (USDA; USA Biobased Products Market Potential & Projections through 2025). Locally, Malaysia’s biochemicals share in Malaysia’s chemicals sales target is projected to increase from 5% in 2010 and 20% in 2020 (McKinsey & Co, 2011).
• Backward integration by companies to secure renewable feedstock and forward integration with chemical companies for marketing.
• Opportunity for significant economic value from oil palm by utilizing waste generated at plantation and mill level for production of higher-value bio-based chemicals (Biotechnology Corporation Sdn. Bhd., 2011).
• Green Chemistry trend such as minimizing waste in chemical production processes, going for less toxic alternatives in place of existing products, and the shift to renewable fossil-fuel-replacement feedstock (Pike Research, 2011).
• The current size of the green chemical industry is about USD 2.8 billion globally. In 2020, it will likely grow to about USD 100 billion (Pike Research, 2011).