CP delays biodiesel project

The Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) has delayed a project to produce biodiesel from palm oil for the government, shifting instead to growing and selling palm saplings to serve local plantations. Montri Congtrakultien, president of the CP Group’s crop-integration business, said that although its biodiesel project is on hold, the company was still optimistic that palm oil would be a crucial alternative-energy source. (January 29, 2007)