PALM PLANTATION TRIBUNE
Palm Plantation Worldwide
Palm plantation in China
Malaysia’s Progression
Ageing oil palm trees: MPOA calls for govt incentives to speed up replanting
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POSCO INTERNATIONAL’s Palm Business, Growing as a Core Business after 13 Years of Continuous Growth
Tripura's palm oil production push: One lakh aplings prepared in nursery in Sepahijala to be planted by August
New oil palm harvesting technique promises reduced losses
Sime Darby Plantation to change name to SD Guthrie Bhd
Multi-billion naira plantation in Nigeria threatens to shut down over insecurity
Dabeeo’s AI monitors Indonesian palm
Palm Plantation in China
Sawit Kinabalu: A Good Story To Share 'Govt taking action to tackle spread of sooty mold disease in Sabah oil palm plantations'
Business magnate launches 400,000-hectare oil palm plantation project in Ghana’s Volta Region
Ageing oil palm trees: MPOA calls for govt incentives to speed up replanting
designs agricultural commodities digital tracker in
push
F I NA L A N NOUN C EME N T
POSCO INTERNATIONAL’s Palm Business, Growing as a Core Business after 13 Years of Continuous Growth
Brief: roduced 208,000 tons of palm oil in 2023, the largest amount in its history since entering the business in 2011. Now striving to expand the value chain by jointly entering the palm oil re ning business. Producing palm oil in accordance with environmental standards required by the international community.
Posco International announced that its palm business has become a major source of revenue for the company, with sales of USD 163.6 million (approximately KRW 213.8 billion) and operating pro t of USD 52.56 million (approximately KRW 68.6 billion) last year.
Since beginning its farm plantation development in Papua, Indonesia, in 2011, the company started commercial production in 2016 and is on the right track, achieving its largest production volume of 208,000 tons in 2023.
Its PT.BIA corporation, the locally established company to run the farm business, turned pro table in 2018 and recorded sales of USD 44.82 million and operating pro t of USD 6.35 million in 2019. In particular, in 2022, the company achieved record sales of KRW 219.6 billion (Korean Won) and operating pro t of KRW 102.2 billion (Korean Won) for the year due to higher selling prices caused by rising oil prices and supply chain disruptions from the war in Ukraine. Until last year, the average annual pro t margin of the palm business was 33%, contributing signi cantly to the improvement of the company’s operating pro t margin.
Its investment in palm plantations and infrastructure amounts to approximately USD 250 million, and considering the operating pro t of approximately USD 230 million secured so far, the company has recovered most of the investment within six years of full-scale palm oil production.
e reasons behind the sustainable performance of the palm business are: optimal growing environment; establishment of e cient infrastructure and; systematic farm management.
First of all, Papua-the place of palm business operation-has the optimal climate and soil for the growth of palm trees. e palm plantation also has infrastructure such as roads and its own port for e cient transportation. Furthermore, the company is continuously increasing its palm oil production per hectare through systematic growth and production management based on scienti c farming. In addition, the company is actively expanding its value chain to advance its palm business based on pro tability.
One of the best examples is its palm oil re ning business signed with GS Caltex in October last year. e two companies invested USD 210 million to build a palm oil re nery in Kalimantan Timur, Indonesia, and plan to produce 500,000 tons of re ned oil annually from 2025. Beyond re ning, the two companies are also exploring the production opportunity of eco-friendly biofuel, such as sustainable aviation fuel.
Source: Posco Newsroom
Pics courtesy of PT.BIO INTI AGRINDO
Photo from KED Global
Tripura's palm oil production push: One lakh saplings prepared in nursery in Sepahijala to be planted by August
As the Tripura government (India) in collaboration with private agencies is striving towards the production of oil palm at a commercial scale, around one lakh (100,000) saplings of the crop prepared in a huge palm nursery will be planted in over 700 hectares of land across the state by August.
e palm nursery was located at Jumerdhepa in the Sepahijala district. A total of 54 workers have been working here in shi s. Separate teams have been engaged for spraying fertilisers, watering the saplings and weeding.
Speaking to ANI, a worker in charge of the nursery, Uttam Debnath said, "In the rst phase, there were 15 people working here daily. Later, an additional 15 people were roped in for the task. It took almost one year for the seeds to get sprouted. A er that, polythene bags were brought and the seed was planted on it. All the saplings were initially grown in the shaded area and later transferred to the natural atmosphere. Now these saplings are ready for being planted in the agricultural eld."According to Debnath, the one lakh saplings prepared in the nursery would be planted in over 700 hectares of land across the state.
"We have a total of one lakh saplings here. All these saplings would be planted on over 700 hectares of land across the state. By August, the plantation would be completed. Once the rst lot is sent out for plantation, the second lot of seeds would arrive," Debnath told ANI.
Meanwhile, to get the produce of the state processed within the state, two high-tech units are going to be established in Tripura, an o cial of the horticulture department of Tripura told ANI.
According to the Department of Horticulture and Soil Conservation, Godrej Agrovet and Patanjali Food Private Limited have been assigned as the linked agencies.
ese two bodies are making farmers aware of the bene ts of oil palm farming with a guaranteed buyback assurance in the declared price.
A top o cial has said that both the companies have received permission to set up oil palm processing units in the state. ese units will function as primary oil extraction units and the nished product received from these units will be sent to the re neries.
Right now Godrej Agrovet is working in areas under the Dhalai, Unakoti, and North Tripura districts while Patanjali is working in the remaining ve districts of Tripura. So far, the plantation has been undertaken in 130 hectares of land, said the o cial.
Source: Ani, Big News Network
Godrej Agrovet to establish oil palm processing units in the state (Pics courtesy of Grodjet Agrovet).
New oil palm harvesting technique promises reduced losses
e Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has been researching to generate new higher-yielding planting materials. Not only through the traditional breeding techniques but increasingly by deploying biogenetic approaches. ere has been some success. But, the challenge remains.
What is more disturbing is the shortfalls in oil recovery from the current planting material. ere are two major contributors to this. One is the lack of labour to harvest, where the industry has experienced a severe crisis lately. It started during the Covid-19 pandemic when many foreign workers le for their home countries. Many did not return.
e other is the current harvesting practice which gives a high percentage of unripe fruits. Some estimates suggest that there may be up to 30 per cent oil loss that way. Billions of ringgit in revenue were lost. Harvesting involves hard work. It is classi ed as di cult, dirty and dangerous or 3Ds. Local labour o en shies away.
Dependence on foreign labour is inevitable. Not all foreign workers can e ectively harvest oil palm. Only workers from Indonesia are found to be most e cient. But as Indonesia expands her oil palm cultivation, fewer Indonesian workers are available. Workers from other countries cannot match the productivity level of Indonesians.
ere have been many attempts to mechanise. But they have not met with much success. O en the cost is too prohibitive.
According to the researcher, no bunch-cutting is necessary. No bunch cutting in palm oil harvesting is a method where oil palm fruits are harvested without cutting the entire fruit bunches, only the ripe, loose fruits are collected. However, the technique must be validated by the appropriate eld trials. What is guaranteed is that all fruits harvested are 100 per cent ripe.
is means the oil losses may be reduced to almost zero. e decision to harvest is no longer based on loose fruits on the ground. e other attraction of the technique is that all able-bodied workers can perform the operation.
e other attraction of the proposed technique is the cost reduction in oil milling. e needed sterilisation capacity is much reduced. is would also reduce the water usage in the mill which means a lower volume of POME (palm oil mill e uent), reducing the cost to treat the e uent.
More importantly, the oil losses due to labour shortage and the high percentage of unripe fruits harvested will be resolved. ere is some element of mechanisation involved. However, it is much less complicated than the attempt to mechanise the existing harvesting technique.
Compared with all other ideas of using drones and robotics, the proposed technique is simpler. e engineer who came up with this idea is looking to develop the technique into a full-scale commercial operation. e palm oil industry should give it serious consideration. e palm oil industry has spent many years and much funding to mechanise the harvesting operation. It has met with limited success. Even recent attempts to deploy digitized drones have yet to satisfy the industry.
Source: Dr Ahmad Ibrahim, professor at the Tan Sri Omar Centre for STI Policy, UCSI University
The traditional method where whole fruit bunches, known as fresh fruit bunches (FFBs), are cut and collected for processing.
MALAYSIAN PALM PLANTATION
RELATED MINISTRY, AGENCY & ASSOCIATION
Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (KPK)
Jalan P2p, Presint 2, 62000 Putrajaya, Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya.
Phone : +6 03 8000 8000
Fax : +6 03 8880 3482
Email : portalmaster@kpk.gov.my www.kpk.gov.my
Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB)
6, Persiaran Institusi, Bandar Baru Bangi, 43000 Kajang Selangor.
Phone : +6 03 8769 4400
Email : general@mpob.gov.my www.mpob.gov.my
Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC)
Level 25, PJX HM Shah Tower, No. 16A Jalan Persiaran Barat PJS 52, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. Phone : +6 03 7806 4097
Fax : +6 03 7806 2272
Email : wbmaster@mpoc.org.my www.mpoc.org.my
Malaysian Palm Oil Certi cation Council (MPOCC)
Level 2, Tower 2B, UOA Business Park, Unit 2-1, No 1, Jalan Pengaturcara U1/51, Seksyen U1, 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor.
Phone : +6 03 2181 0192
Email : info@mpocc.org.my www.mpocc.org.my
Malaysian Palm Oil Green Conservation Foundation (MPOGCF)
Level 12-3-3A PJX HM Shah Tower,16A, Persiaran Barat, Pjs 52, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Phone : +6 03 7931 5544 / 5445 www.mpogcf.org
Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) Tower 3, Level 8, Unit 03-08-09&10, UOA Business Park, No, 1, Jalan Pengaturcara U1/51, 0150 Shah Alam, Selangor. Phone: +6 03 5021 0730
Email: admin@mpoa.org.my www.mpoa.org.my
Malaysia Estate Owners’ Assosiation (MEOA)
No. 27, Level 2, Jalan Kelapa, O Persiaran Raja Muda Musa, 41200 Kalng, Selangor, Malaysia
Phone : +6 04 262 6431
Fax : +6 03 7877 7166
Email :hello@meoa.org.my www.meoa.org.my
Malayan Agricultural Producers Association (MAPA)
Unit K03-08-08, Tower 3,UOA Business Park, 1, Jalan Pengaturcara U1/51, 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor. Phone : +6 03 5031 3995
Email : mapahq@mapa.net.my www.mapa.net.my
Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners Assosiation (SOPPOA) No 30, 2nd Floor, Travillion Commercial Centre, 93100 Kuching Sarawak, Malaysia. Phone : +6 082 236 872
Fax: +6 082 236 873
Email : soppoa@gmail.com www.soppoa.org.my
The East Malaysia Planters’ Association (EMPA)
Lot 38-1 F, Jalan Dataran BU 4, Bandar Utama, Mile 6, Labuk Road P P M 62 Elopura 90000 Sandakan
Sabah, Malaysia
Phone : +6 089 238 316
Fax: +6 089 238 316
Email : theempa1889@yahoo.com www.tinyurl.com/theempa1889
Sarawak Dayak Oil Palm Planters Association (DOPPA)
2nd Floor Lot 35 & 36, Medan Jaya Commercial Centre, P O Box 742, 97008 Bintulu, Sarawak
Tel : +6 012 8775 415
Email : ritasarimah@gmail.com www.doppa.org
National Organisation of Smallholders (NASH)
D-1-11, Setiawangsa Business Suites
Jalan Setiawangsa 11, Taman Setiawangsa 54200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Phone : +6 03 4251 0984 / +6 03 4251
0992
Email: pkpkm2014@gmail.com www.pkpkm.org.my
Sime Darby Plantation Bhd (SD Plantation) has announced its intention to change its brand name to SD Guthrie Bhd.
e decision was announced to Bursa Malaysia earlier, notifying the public of the company's intention to seek shareholders' approval for the new brand at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM).
" is is a signi cant milestone in our 200-year history and comes at a pivotal time for us as an organisation," said SD Plantation chairman Tan Sri Dr Nik Norzrul ani Nik Hassan ani.
"We have established clear leadership in our industry on many fronts and have grown our downstream business into a signi cant revenue contributor. "As a landowner in Malaysia, we are also cognisant of the many opportunities to create value for our shareholders."
e decision to rebrand was made a er several months of discussions with experts in the elds of law, intellectual property and brand identity. All necessary legal and regulatory approvals for the rebranding will be obtained.
"We believe it is the prerogative of any large company with ambitions for sustainable growth, to own and control its brand and identity. "With this change to SD Guthrie, we will be able to
is situation imposes signi cant constraints on SD Plantation's ability to make its own strategic decisions for the brand and business. In proposing "SD Guthrie" as the new brand, the company aims to present itself as a fully integrated player in the industry, with interests and potential beyond upstream plantations.
"Additionally, the brand SD Guthrie is very much a part of the history of the company, paying homage to its recent past as part of the Sime Darby group, as well as its origins more than 200 years ago with Alexander Guthrie." e original Guthrie story was one of ambition, Enterprise, and resilience, of both its early founders and its subsequent Malaysian leaders, attributes which continue to resonate in the company today."
SD Plantation started out as a trading house in Singapore in 1821, as Guthrie & Co. Over the years, through multiple corporate exercises, it grew into one of the largest plantation companies in the world.
"To us however, our commitments to sustainability, innovation and quality are as important as our scale, reach and capacity. " is is why we continue to explore new technologies and invest in continuous improvement. We understand the changing needs of
Source: Business Times
(Photo by The Star)
Multi-billion naira plantation in Nigeria threatens to shut down over insecurity
“It’s
absurd that we pay over N12 billion in taxes to the government annually and still are left to fend and seek security for equipment and personnel by ourselves."
e management of Okomu Oil Palm Plc says its multi-billion naira investment in Edo is being threatened by incessant disruptions by militants of its operations and attacks on its personnel.
e Managing Director of the company, Graham Hefer, expressed this possibility in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Okomu, in Ovia South West Local Government Area of the state.
Mr Hefer said the latest of such attacks was the early morning attack and assassination in cold blood of three of the company’s workers inside the plantation.
Hefer, who decried the worrisome worsening security situation within and outside the plantation, said if the situation continued unabated, the company’s multi-billion naira investment might shut its operations.
“Government has to come and take absolute control of the area overtaken by squatters who now terrorise the locality as the owner of the land. “Government that is supposed to be their custodian and protect the tenants like us absolutely has no control whatsoever. We are le to our faith. “ ere are police personnel or soldiers and no police post at all. “Yet, the government needs to provide security around the plantation and the people around the communities as law-abiding citizens.
Source: Agency Report, Premium Times
Pics courtesy of Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc
Dabeeo’s AI monitors Indonesian palm
Kicking o its innovative initiative, Dabeeo, a top-tier geospatial intelligence AI technology rm, embarked on its latest endeavour: monitoring palm oil farms in Indonesia.
Covering an expansive area surpassing the South Korean capital of Seoul, this project comes to fruition through a partnership with Tunas Sawa Erma Group, a prominent player in Indonesia’s palm oil industry. e collaboration spans a vast expanse totaling 765 square kilometres, promising signi cant insights into sustainable agriculture practices.
“While high-precision satellite imagery is commonly used for military and IT purposes, cases like this one, applied in agriculture, are quite rare. is case demonstrates the expanding utility of satellite imagery across various domains, with Dabeeo leading the way,” said Ju Hum Park, CEO of Dabeeo.
“At a time when there are no prominent players in the farm monitoring business, our strategic entry into the market through the recent contract with TSE Group enables us to accelerate business activation in order to expand our market share signi cantly in the future,” he added. e latest deal marks an expansion for the Dabeeo’s ongoing palm oil farm monitoring projects, which begin in Malaysia last year. Indonesia and Malaysia reportedly produce up to 80 percent of the world’s palm supply, and the company hopes to use their recent deals in the two countries as a stepping stone for expanding its business even further.
Dabeeo’s latest partner, TSE Group, has been operating a palm oil business in Indonesia for almost three decades. e South Korean company’s o cials said their partnership can be a “a strong signal of Dabeeo’s entry into the Indonesian market.”
Dabeeo plans to use AI analysis and ultra-high-resolution satellite imagery to signi cantly reduce the workload required in the current method of palm oil farm monitoring, which requires extensive manual labour and drone footage.
According to the company, its top-tier 30-cm-resolution satellite imagery can provide comprehensive coverage of vast areas in a single snapshot, which is possible through collaboration with commercial satellite providers like Airbus and Maxar.
O cials said Dabeeo achieves over 99.5 percent accuracy in detecting palm tree objects and over 90 percent accuracy in classifying their health status. Using such methods allows early detection of any deviation such as diseased trees, providing essential data for yield predictions.
Dabeeo aims to extend its collaboration with TSE Group to include nutrient analysis, identifying nutrient de ciencies in individual trees through satellite imagery to optimise fertilisation plans, potentially revolutionising palm oil farm operations.
To provide the analysed data for easy access of the users, Dabeeo has been developing a platform for monitoring Indonesian palm oil farms in collaboration with TSE Group since 2023. e platform is based on Dabeeo’s “Dabeeo Eartheye,” recognised at CES 2022 as an innovative satellite image-based AI analysis platform.
e main focus was ensuring rapid access to large data volumes even in areas with poor internet connectivity, given that most palm oil farms are located in areas with limited internet access.
e company said the platform now enables uninterrupted access even at 12 Mbps (approximately 1/14th of the average speed in South Korea), allowing farm managers to take immediate action on-site. By deploying resources accurately and e ciently, such as timely labour force allocation to problem areas, the platform enhances overall farm operations.
Transitioning from systems accessible only to GIS experts to a web-based platform accessible to all organisation members enhances the e ectiveness of farm monitoring across TSE Group.
Source: Borneo Bulletin
Pics courtesy of Dabeeo
Pics courtesy of Dabeeo
International Symposium on Plant Lipids
Lincoln, USA
Ju ly 2024
Sawit Indonesia Expo 2024
Pekanbaru Convention & Exhibition, Ria u
16th National Seminar (NATSEM) 2024
Pullman Miri Waterfron t, Sa rawak, Mala ysia
T-POMI Technologie & Talent Palm Oïl Mill
Indonesia 2024
Holiday Inn Bandung Pasteur, Indonesia
Globoil India 2024
The Westin Mumbai Powai L ake, India
The 7th of Malaysia International Agriculture Technology Exhibition 2024 S etia City Convention Centre, Malaysia
PALMEX Malaysia 2024 KLCC, Malaysia September 2024
World Food Istanbul 2024 Istanbul, Turkey
Food and Kitchen Tanzania
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Oils & Fats International Congress 2024 KLCC, Malaysia
ICIS Pan American Oleochemicals Conference
The Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove, USA
Heatech Indonesia
Jakarta International Expo, Indonesia
26th Central Asian International Exhibition FoodExpo Qazaqstan
Almaty, Kazakhstan
Biofuels Expo 2024
Renaissance London Heath row Hotel, UK
Food Ingredients
Europe 2024 Frankfurt, Germany
2nd Annual Food Security Asia Congress 2024
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The 10th Indonesia
International Palm Oil Machinery & Processing Technology Exhibition 2024
Jakarta International Expo, Indonesia
Ju ly
PALMEX Thailand 2024
CO-OP Exhibition Centre, Thailand
China Feed Industry Expo
Nanjing , China
Seminar on Speciality Fats
Konya, Turkey North American SAF Conference & Expo
Saint Paul Rivercentre, USA
Sustainable Aviation Futures North America Congress
Marriot Marquis, USA
Malaysian Palm Oil Forum KL & Gala Dinner
3 October 2024
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The 14th PALMEX Indonesia 2024
Santika Premiere Dyandra Hotel & Convention, Indonesia
20th Indonesian Palm Oil Conference (IPOC) and 2025 Price Outlook
Bali, Indonesia
Sustainable Aviation Fuetures APAC Congress
Singapore
YABITED Fats and Oils Congress
Antalya, Turkey
Smart Nation Expo 2024 and EVM Asia 2024
MITEC, Malaysia
Coex Food Week 2024 S eoul, S outh Korea
Food Africa 2024 Eg ypt International Exhibition Centre, Eg ypt
2025 Internationa Biomass Conference & Expo Cobb Galleria Centre, Georgia, USA
“Re-you 6”, the first oil palm variety able to grow i China with a yield higher than 3 tonnes per hectare (Image courtesy of Zeng Xianhai)’’
Colleagues from the Ministry of Agriculture’s Oil Palm Trial Planting Network examine fruit in Yunnan province. China is investigating ways to boost domestic production, but faces challenges to do so cost-effectively. (Pics courtesy of Zeng Xianhai)
China relies entirely on imported palm oil, importing around 7 million tonnes annually, valued at over US$4 billion, making it the world's second-largest importer a er India. However, the Chinese government has long sought to produce more edible oils locally and manufacture biofuels by setting up domestic oil palm plantations.
In Hainan, scientists have spent over two decades breeding oil palm varieties suitable for China, hoping to promote commercial plantations. Although there is no signi cant oil palm cultivation in China, the earliest recorded introduction was in 1926 in Hainan by overseas Chinese. ere have been two major planting attempts: one in the 1950s-60s and another in the 1980s, both ultimately unsuccessful due to various challenges including poor management and lack of suitable varieties.
At the time, China lacked knowledge of oil palm cultivation and introduced low-yielding, thick-shelled Dura varieties that had not been selectively bred. Additionally, increasing production was di cult due to various factors such as the failure to master cultivation and management techniques, and the lack of a professional workforce. From the 1950s to the 1980s, the average oil production per mu (1/15 of a hectare, or 666 square meters) was only 20 to 30 kilograms. In comparison, the average oil production in the main producing countries in Southeast Asia can reach about 270 kilograms per mu.
Revival of Oil Palm Cultivation in China
Revival e orts began in 1998, led by the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences. In 2019, a new variety, "Elaeis Guineensis Jacq. Reyou No.4," was approved, followed by "Elaeis Guineensis Jacq. Reyou No.6" in 2021. ese varieties boast high yields, strong resistance to wind and drought, and suitability for planting in Hainan and similar climates.
Prospects of Commercial Palm Planting in China
However, commercial-scale planting faces signi cant challenges. Labour-intensive harvesting, high establishment costs, and the lack of processing infrastructure hinder rapid commercialization. Despite these hurdles, small-scale trials and policy support could pave the way for future large-scale cultivation. e market should not be the sole driving force for the development of domestic oil palm cultivation. e value of domestic planting should be considered from the perspective of edible oil security. With a domestic edible oil self-su ciency rate of less than 30%, tropical oil crops can contribute to a food safety net. erefore, the development of productive planting in the country requires national policy guidance, nancial funding, support for industrialization, and the participation of social capital.
Source: China Dialogue and CSPO Watch.
S A Good
tory To hare
ere are many upli ing stories in the palm oil industry. One such story is about Sawit Kinabalu, an integrated palm oil company under the Sawit Kinabalu Group, which includes plantations, mills, and a re nery. Sawit Kinabalu is a government-linked company (GLC) fully owned by the State Government of Sabah.
Sawit Kinabalu manages 36 oil palm estates with a total planted area of 67,475 hectares across four regions in Sabah: the West Coast, Sandakan, Lahad Datu, and Tawau. e company operates seven palm oil mills with a total capacity of 335 metric tonnes of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) per hour. All the crude palm oil (CPO) produced is sent to the Kunak Re nery in Tawau, which was commissioned on 14 May 2007. e re nery has a production capacity of 1,500 metric tonnes of re ned palm oil (RPO) and 400 metric tonnes of palm kernel (PK) per day.
In terms of hectares, Sawit Kinabalu is the third largest plantation in Sabah, a er Felda and IOI Plantations. Sabah is the second largest oil palm area in the country, with 1.50 million hectares in 2022. As a GLC, many are unaware of the company’s e orts to enhance sustainability, environmental protection, and worker
Pics courtesy of Sawit Kinabalu
Sawit Kinabalu:
Livestock Integration - A Mix of Business and Natural Preservation
Sawit Kinabalu operates a livestock integration program with 15,000 free-roaming cattle, the largest in the country. Initially bred to manage weeds, the cattle have helped reduce chemical weedicide use, making the practice eco-friendly and reducing weeding costs by about 30%, saving at least RM 50 to RM 60 per year per hectare. e cattle also provide an additional source of income.
e company, through its subsidiary Sawit Kinabalu Farm Products Sdn Bhd, has long been involved in cattle farming. is presents a signi cant potential for Sawit Kinabalu to expand into the halal beef production business. To commercialize this e ort, the company needs to increase its cattle population to 40,000 or 50,000. e beef produced can meet local demand, as Sabah currently imports 95% of its beef requirements.
Quality Planting Materials - Increasing Yield and Productivity
Sawit Kinabalu has seed production units in Tawau producing up to 4-10 million seeds per year, and a biotech lab capable of producing half a million ramets (tissue culture) annually. With about 70,000
of plantation area and a policy to replant 3-4% annually, the company needs 300,000 to 400,000 seedlings each year. e remaining seedlings are sold, which is vital for replanting e orts in Sabah to boost national productivity.
e company operates six commercial-scale nurseries from Kudat to Beaufort. ese nurseries ensure that the seedlings planted will yield the best production possibilities, including higher yields from the existing land area.
Sustainability PracticesKey to People, Profit, and Planet (3P)
Sawit Kinabalu's sustainability framework is built on the three pillars of People, Pro t, and Planet (3P). e company promotes a culture of sustainability throughout its supply chain, believing that sustainability leads to pro tability.
To sustain its business, the company prioritizes worker welfare. Since 2012, under its Labour Retention Strategy, Sawit Kinabalu has ensured that workers, primarily from Indonesia (75%), are well-compensated above the minimum wage. is strategy has helped minimize absenteeism by providing competitive pay, good housing, and educational facilities for workers' children.
Source: Sawit Kinabalu
e company also focuses on environmental protection, including conservation and deforestation e orts, and wildlife protection, particularly for orangutans. Since 2012, Sawit Kinabalu has been part of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Before RSPO, in 2010, the company began conserving land, now totaling about 2,600 hectares with an allocated cost of RM 100 million.
Currently, Sawit Kinabalu holds several sustainability certi cations, including the Certi ed RSPO Supply Chain Certi cation System, MSPO (MS2530-2013), International Sustainability & Carbon Certi cation (ISCC), and RSPO P&C 2018 sustainability certi cation. e company aims to obtain the RSPO Jurisdictional Certi cation Sustainable Palm Oil for Sabah (RSPO JCSPO) by 2025.
Endorsement by the European Union (EU)
During a visit to Sabah in May 2022, European Union (EU) Ambassador to Malaysia Michalis Rochas acknowledged the misconceptions about palm oil in EU countries and saw the need to correct them. He visited Sawit Kinabalu's plantations and commended the conservation e orts in Sabah. He was particularly impressed by the sighting of an orangutan and its baby and the presence of many orangutan nests.
ese conservation e orts are largely unknown in the EU, and there is a need to convey the true situation in Sabah to improve the perception of the palm oil industry in Malaysia.
courtesy of AAR Sdn. Bhd.
Pics
'Govt taking action to tackle spread of sooty mold disease in Sabah oil palm plantations'
Deputy Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Chan Foong Hin said he has been informed that Mealybug, which is a type of fungus carrying sooty mold disease, is spreading widely in oil palm plantations in Sabah, especially in Tawau and Lahad Datu.
" is disease will attack the fronds of oil palm trees and disrupt the photosynthesis process that occurs on the leaves, thereby stunting tree growth and a ecting the quality of oil palm fruit yield," he said.
Based on a presentation by Applied Agricultural Resources Sdn Bhd (AAR), Chan said the company had found the declining production of fresh fruit bunch (FFB) from 2018 to 2023 at an average rate of 5.61 per cent per year in Tawau.
He said the situation was caused by a sudden decrease in photosynthesis rates.
"As a result, AAR has initiated research and tree treatment work since 2022 to identify appropriate treatment methods and the use of suitable pesticides.
"A er several treatments, the disease outbreak can be e ectively controlled, and oil palm tree photosynthesis rates successfully restored," he added.
Chan, who is Kota Kinabalu member of parliament, said a full-scale treatment has begun at KLK Sabah estate using trunk injection and chemical spraying methods.
However, I understand that many small private farmers are still unaware of the e ects of sooty mold disease.
"To prevent a decline in FFB production and income for small farmers, I have requested cooperation from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board to assess the severity of sooty mold disease among smallholder farms, and relevant statistics for further action.
"I will also organise engagement sessions with small farmers in Sabah to boost awareness and assist them in managing the disease."
Source: New Straits Times
Photo from Bernama
Business magnate launches
Business magnate launches
400,000-hectare oil palm plantation project in Ghana’s Volta
400,000-hectare oil palm plantation project in Ghana’s Volta
Mr Ibrahim Mahama (Photo from Modern Ghana)
Ghanaian business magnate Ibrahim Mahama has launched a project to establish a 400,000-hectare (one million acres) oil palm plantation in the Volta Region of Ghana.
e innovative project named Volta Palm, focuses on sustainable oil palm cultivation and production in the Volta Region through collaborative partnerships with landowners and farmers.
Should it see the light of day, the Volta Palm project could become the largest of its kind in Africa, providing direct and indirect employment for the country's youths, while creating a stable raw material base for many agro-processing industries.
During a brief event at Tsaweme, South Tongu, held to inspect the nurturing of oil palm seeds and o cially kick o the project, Togbi Agbesi Awusu II, the Awadada of Anlo Dukor, expressed optimism that this initiative could revolutionise the economic landscape of the region within the next ve years.
He revealed that the Tsaweme project, encompassing the cultivation of around 10,000 hectares, construction of an access road to the plantation, training programmes, and provision of seedlings to farmers, served as the inaugural phase of the broader regional endeavour.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Christian Foli, a Distributor and Business Finder for PalmElit (a company specialised in oil palm seeds), who is overseeing the implementation of the Volta Palm project, assured that the project would adhere to both local and international quality standards, with a commitment to environmental conservation and a zero-tolerance policy towards child labour.
e expert in oil palm cultivation expressed con dence in the success of the project, citing the superior quality of hybrid oil palm seeds, the fertile tropical black earth soil, ideal for oil palm cultivation, and an abundant freshwater supply for irrigation.
Miss Khadija Benyamina, a Sales Engineer and Supply Chain Coordinator for PalmElit, anticipated a signi cant achievement for the project, a rming that their improved seeds would meet the high expectations of key stakeholders in the supply chain.
She underscored Ghana’s vast potential in the oil palm industry and emphasised the project’s pivotal role in boosting the sector and positively in uencing the economy.
Ms. Benyamina expressed her company’s enthusiasm in having Mr Mahama as client and pledged unwavering technical support for the project’s success.
Mr Albert Degollo, Coordinator of the project, said the venture would have a plant to process palm fruits, expected to yield for harvesting in the next three to four years, noting the project could potentially be extended beyond the region.
Mr Mahama said as an entrepreneur seeking to invest in the region of his late mother’s birth, the oil palm industry was the most viable as he drew parallels with the successes of Malaysia and Indonesia, stating that “there’s money in oil palm.”
Source: Africa Commodities Report
Volta Palm: Game changer project for Volta takes off (Photo from MyGhanaDaily)
Ageing oil palm trees: MPOA calls for govt incentives to speed up
replanting
Pics courtesy of Deputy Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Chan Foong Hin
e Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) said there is an urgent need to accelerate replanting to address the issue of ageing oil palm trees, and urges the government to provide replanting tax incentives to support such e orts.
It is calling on the government to include oil palm replanting under the existing reinvestment allowance scheme, and to allow full utilisation of the reinvestment allowance against the plantation company's statutory income to address the nancial barrier to replanting.
In a statement issued a er the MPOA organised a seminar in Sandakan, Sabah, to highlight the imperatives of oil palm replanting, its chief executive Joseph Tek Choon Yee said replanting is "not merely an expense but a prudent investment in industry productivity, GDP (gross domestic product) growth, and future tax revenue for the government's co ers".
Tek also highlighted the paradoxical nature of replanting decisions, where immediate nancial gains o en deter investment in replanting endeavours, despite long-term sustainability concerns.
As such, he proposed a strategic replanting approach aligned with the cultivation cycle to ensure a balanced age pro le in plantations, to mitigate risks and foster resilience. " e catch lies in the necessity for su cient funding to support this well-thought-out replanting programme with nancial backing that balances short-term nancial gains and the long-term vitality, emphasising the need for foresight and scal prudence," he said.
He is also urging for an industry-wide collaboration on the matter. He said :
Replanting is a reinvestment — a calculated move to fortify our industry's future and secure uninterrupted supply chains. It's time for concerted action to ensure the sustainability and prosperity of the Malaysian palm oil sector.
Likewise, Deputy Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Chan Foong Hin, who o ciated the MPOA event, urged industry players to embrace the challenges that lie ahead with ageing and tall oil palm trees with conviction and the willingness to reinvest in accelerated replanting.
“To bolster domestic production and address the interests of stakeholders, the collaboration and assistance of major palm oil entities are essential in undertaking replanting endeavours. ‘ is strategic approach is imperative for ensuring the sustained economic viability of the palm oil industry,” he added.
According to Chan, Sabah made a commendable replanting e ort last year by replanting 61,421 hectares (ha) of its palm plantation, signifying a notable 4% replanting rate per year in Sabah, about 1.7 times the 36,218ha it replanted in 2022.
Citing Malaysian Palm Oil Board data, Chan said the replanted area of Sabah represented 47% of total replanting in Malaysia of 131,917ha in 2023, signifying the state's pivotal role in driving industry rejuvenation.
e one-day seminar delved into the multifaceted nature of sustainable replanting practices, according to the MPOA, while speakers and panellists elaborated on innovative approaches to replanting, highlighting the importance of eco-friendly methods. e discussions also revolved around the economic implications of replanting, with experts stressing the potential for increased productivity and revenue generation.
Source: e Edge Malaysia
Pics courtesy of Deputy Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Chan Foong Hin
Indonesia designs agricultural commodities digital tracker in sustainability push
Indonesia plans to set up a digital dashboard by August to track its agricultural commodities, its economics ministry said, as the world's top palm oil exporter looks to monitor US$6.5 billion worth of products that face a new EU anti-deforestation rule.
e dashboard aims to increase the transparency of the supply chain of agriculture commodities, such as palm oil, co ee and rubber, and better promote sustainability standards in the country, the ministry said in a statement.
It said that would help Indonesian exports navigate the European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR), set to be implemented at the end of 2024, which will ban imports of commodities linked to deforestation.
Indonesian exports of palm oil, cocoa, co ee, rubber and timber, worth six billion euros (US$6.5 billion), will be a ected by the EUDR, Jakarta has previously estimated.
"We must be able to track goods that we trade, so that we can improve trading, going forward," said Musdhalifah Machmud, deputy minister with the Coordinating Ministry of Economic A airs.
Indonesia plans to start running the dashboard ahead of a meeting of a joint task force with the EU and Malaysia in September, during which the three will discuss the implementation of the EUDR.
Indonesia and Malaysia have said that the EUDR is a discriminatory policy targeting their palm oil. e EU said the rules are to ensure the bloc does not contribute to forest degradation worldwide.
Source: e Edge Malaysia
Photo from Bloomberg
