Friday, November 30, 2012

1.21 million hectares of land had been planted with oil palm

KUCHING: The involvement of a community leader in stealing fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) from oil palm plantations in Sg Asap has saddened Minister of Land Development Tan Sri Dr James Masing as it could deter potential investors to Sarawak.

“I am very disappointed to know that a ‘ketua masyarakat’ (community leader) is involved in stealing FFBs. I hope all the relevant authorities would throw the book on those involved otherwise investors will be discouraged to invest in
plantations in Sarawak,” Masing told The Borneo Post on the sidelines of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting here yesterday.

He added that the police would deal with the individual concerned without fear or favour.
On a related issue, Masing revealed that as of June 30 this year, some 1.21 million hectares of land had been planted with oil palm, an increase of 18.6 per cent compared to a year ago, with about 80.2 per cent of the area developed by the private sector.

“This is in line with the government policy for the private sector to spearhead the development of the palm oil industry in the state,” Masing said in his winding-up speech at the DUN sitting yesterday.

He also reiterated that the industry was a private driven sector and as such the budget associated with plantation industry was not reflected in his ministry’s budget allocation.
“Nevertheless, my ministry is tasked to supervise the growth of the industry. The amount of fund involved in the plantation industry under my charge was clearly spelt out in my winding-up speech last year,” he said.

On NCR land, Masing revealed that as of June 30 this year, some 181,106 hectares had been planted with oil palm compared to 173,483 a year ago.
Thus, the current perimeter survey exercise undertaken by the state government would facilitate NCR land owners to develop their land free of encumbrances, he stressed.

Masing also disclosed that Salcra had a total planted area of 50,115 hectares under oil palm, out of which 1,074 hectares were due for replanting besides the new areas totalling 5,286 hectares which were in various stages of development.

“Despite the decline in the average price of crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel (PK) for the first nine months of this year, Salcra and oil palm estates registered operating surplus of RM3.6 million and RM115.74 respectively.
“Similarly, Salcra’s palm oil mills in Bau, Serian and Saratok also achieved good profits before tax. Milling efficiency, coupled with continuous prudent cost control accompanied by effective and good management, has enabled Salcra and its participating landowners to achieve these commendable results,” said Masing.
He also reported that Felda had planted some 60,000 hectares with oil palm in the state by end of 10th Malaysia Plan.

He said Felda was embarking on the development of NCR land with some 500 hectares for oil palm under Phase I at Pasai-Siong near Sibu.
Meanwhile, the senior minister expressed his worry that that some 80 per cent of 98,092 workers presently employed by oil palm plantations in the state were Indonesians.

“As the industry in Indonesia is expanding very rapidly, it has become increasingly more difficult to get additional workers from that country, thus the state government is considering other source countries for the recruitment of foreign workers to ease the shortage.”
However, he pointed out that it would be a short term solution.
“Therefore there is an urgent need to come up with long term measures to resolve the problem of shortage of workers,” he said.
To him, the best solution was for local people to be willing to work in oil palm plantations and acquire skills so that they could command better salaries. He also highlighted the urgent need for more research and development (R&D) to increase mechanisation in field operations.


Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/11/28/thieving-community-leader-disappoints-masing/#ixzz2DkkJwyIP

Friday, November 23, 2012

Oil Palm Smallholders in Mukah

SIBU: Oil palm smallholders in Mukah and surrounding areas have made an urgent appeal to the government and the Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB) to build a specific mill that would offer a standard price for their fresh fruit bunches (FFB).

Many of them are caught in a dilemma as the seven mills in Mukah are offering differing prices for their FFB.
As such they have no choice but to sell their products to the Sarawak Plantation Agriculture Development (SPAD), which currently offers the best price.

Unfortunately, they are forced to join a long queue if they desire so, depriving them of time, and causing great stress and hardship in their bid to sell their product.

Three smallholders, Sim Yau Chen, Kahim Byaru and Garai Badin, visited the PKR Lanang office yesterday to express their dissatisfaction with the MPOB and the government for refusing to look into their predicament.

“We have been waiting for a long time but MPOB appears to turn a blind eye to our request. We really hope MPOB, together with the government would give us some resolution,” Garai said.
Garai claimed he had to wait for two days on one occasion just to sell 15 to 20 metric tons of oil palm.

“The long queue is taking a heavy toll on our livelihood. If we join in the queue to sell our FFB, then there would not be anybody to take care of our business,” he said.
Kahim said the government and the MPOB were doing a disservice to them.

“On the one hand, they encouraged us to go into the oil palm industry but on the other hand, they are putting extreme pressure on us by refusing to lend support,” he said.
Kahim said they might be forced to quit the business if the mills continued to manipulate FFB prices.

PKR Lanang division chairman George Chen said the government and the MPOB should immediately step in to resolve this longstanding problem.
He said it was a waste of time and resources when smallholders are forced to wait by the roadside in front of SPAD’s office to sell their FFB.
“Naturally, the smallholders will choose the mills that offer the highest price and as a result they have to join in these long queues,” he said.

Chen said the situation worsened when other mills began ascribing a lower grade to the FFB before buying them while others chose to reject the FFB outright, saying it was not up to standard.

In the past, Chen said the mills offered a standard price for the FFB.
Recently, they had come up with different prices for different FFB grades, thus putting smallholders in a dilemma.

“If they want to sell their FFB to SPAD which offers the highest price at the moment, it would mean them having to sacrifice their time to join in the long queue,” he said.

Chen said under the grading system, one metric tonne for Grade A oil palm fetched RM661, Grade B RM567 and Grade C RM441.

Before the grading system, Chen said the smallholders used to sell their FFB at RM661.
“Now, some mills ascribe these FFBs under Grade C, hence offering RM441 per metric tonne. This is akin to robbing the smallholders of their hard work,” Chen said.
Meanwhile, a spokesman from MPOB when contacted by The Borneo Post yesterday said they would send enforcement officers to look into the matter immediately.
“There are various issues to look into including the quality and source of the FFB,” the spokesman added.



Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/09/23/mukah-oil-palm-smallholders-in-a-dilemma/#ixzz2D3CiwLAM

Saturday, November 17, 2012

FFB Price Drop To RM 380 Only

Hopefully when the price increase, my Oil Palm is ready for harvesting.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Malaysia palm oil has a proven track record

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) has slammed a French senator's proposed "Nutella tax" - the imposition of a 300% tax increase on palm oil -- and urged the French government to reject the plan.

MPOC chief executive officer Tan Sri Dr Yusof Basiron, in his rebuttal on Monday, described French Senator Yves Daudigny's tax plan as part of an aggressive and unprovoked attack against palm oil.

Expressing deep concern, he pointed out: "The proposal is based on inaccurate claims that palm oil is bad for health and nutrition, and that Malaysia does not respect the environment.

"Palm oil is a healthy, natural and important product which 240,000 small farmers in Malaysia are proud to produce." The Nutella tax to be voted on this week will raise taxes on palm oil by 300% and it is viewed as a strategy to add to the French Government's coffers but it is also aimed to reduce widespread consumption in the country.

According to wire reports, palm oil is used as the primary ingredient in France's favourite chocolate hazelnut spread as well as other pastries and processed foods. The average French person consumes two kg of palm oil a year, or 126,000 tonnes collectively.

The wire report said the proposed tax would translate to a 6 euro cent hike per kilo of Nutella, or 30 euro cents on giant 5 kg pots of Nutella most commonly used in restaurants and creperies across France.

Yusof urged the French government to reject the proposed tax which was part of an "aggressive and unprovoked attack against palm oil".

"Instead, Senator Daudigny should focus his efforts on all saturated fats. This campaign has already been the focus of a complaint by small farmers in Africa and Malaysia.

"These actions will significantly undermine the competitiveness of the French food industry - domestically and globally," it said.

Below is the statement issued by MPOC Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Dr Yusof Basiron on the proposed “Nutella Tax” offered by French Senator Yves Daudigny: Malaysia is deeply concerned with French Senator Yves Daudigny's proposed 300 per cent tax increase on palm oil. The proposal is based on inaccurate claims that palm oil is bad for health and nutrition, and that Malaysia does not respect the environment.

Palm oil is a healthy, natural and important product which 240,000 small farmers in Malaysia are proud to produce. Contrary to Senator Daudigny's comments, every nutritional and food expert concludes that palm oil is in fact free of dangerous trans fats, free of GMOs and contains valuable vitamins.

A study from Fonds Francais Alimentation et Sant finds that replacing palm oil is a bad option for French consumers, potentially leading to a rise in the level of trans fat consumption. It is important that allegations or claims made about palm oil as high in saturated fat are assessed in relation to the total fats consumption of the French population.

The majority of saturated fats consumed in France comes from animal sources - from meat, milk, cheese and butter - not from palm oil.

The Senator's proposal to deny palm oil its rightful place in food manufacturing will not only be an economic and functional opportunity loss to industry, but also for the French people if they involuntarily consume worse alternatives such as hydrogenated (high trans fat) sunflower or rapeseed oil.

The French consume about 101kgs of meat per person per year with an average of 15kgs of saturated fat content. Milk consumption per person is 92.2 liters containing 4kgs of milk fats which belong to the saturated fats category.

Cheese has 30% animal fat content and the French are well known to consume 24kgs of cheese per capita, which provides 8kgs of saturated animal fats. Butter consumption is 7.3kgs per capita which is 100% saturated animal fats.

If we were to add this up, the total animal saturated fats from milk, meat, cheese, and butter per person per year is 34.4kgs. In comparison palm oil consumption per capita in France is only 2kgs. "Malaysian palm oil has a proven track record on efficient land use and conservation. Malaysia has over 50 per cent of its land committed to forest cover, and has designated just over 24 per cent of total land area for agricultural purposes.

In contrast, forest area in France covers just 28 percent of total land area - but agricultural land covers over 50 per cent of total land area.

Palm oil yields 4.13 tonnes of vegetable oil per hectare, or 10, 7 and 5 times the yields of soybean, sunflower and rapeseed, respectively, and occupies less than 5 per cent of land under oilseed cultivation. The action taken by French Senator Daudigny, to propose onerous new burdens on palm oil producers, is irresponsible, badly-informed and ignores the primary source of saturated fats in the French diet.

Not only will the legislative proposal hurt local business communities in France, which have opted to use palm oil for its superior economic and functional attributes, but the attack comes after the start of talks by Malaysian palm oil representatives with French leaders, industry and civil society to work together to correct misperceptions about palm oil.

Over 240,000 small farmers across Malaysia depend on palm oil for their livelihood. In addition to this, many thousands of other jobs in Malaysia depend upon related industries.

Senator Daudigny's actions jeopardize the livelihood of these farmers. We call upon the French government to reject the proposal by Senator Daudigny. Senator Daudigny's proposed tax is part of an aggressive and unprovoked attack against palm oil. Instead, Senator Daudigny should focus his efforts on all saturated fats. This campaign has already been the focus of a complaint by small farmers in Africa and Malaysia. These actions will significantly undermine the competitiveness of the French food industry - domestically and globally.

Source : The Star

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Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Various incentives for oil palm smallholders to raise output

KOTA MARUDU: The government is always appreciative and recognises the contribution and role of oil palm smallholders in the country.

To this end, the government provides the oil palm smallholders with various opportunities and incentives which they can use to improve productivity and increase their income.

“The encouraging palm oil industry growth has contributed vastly to the country’s economic growth and in 2011, oil palm plantations in Malaysia made up to five million hectares which is 73.2 per cent of the total agricultural land in the country”, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said.

Speaking at a gathering with oil palm smallholders from the district yesterday, Dompok disclosed that of the five million hectares planted with oil palm in the country, 40 per cent belonged to smallholders making them a force to be reckoned with in the country’s palm oil industry.

He also disclosed that export revenue derived from palm oil products recorded a high last year at RM83.4 billion which was an increase of 34 per cent compared to RM62.2 billion in 2010.

“With anticipated revenue growth, the average annual income of oil palm smallholders is also expected to increase by 47 per cent from RM4,794 in 2010 to RM7,047 by 2020,” he said.
Dompok also said that under the Sustainable Palm Oil Cluster concept, the setting up of Sustainable Oil Palm Growers Cooperative by smallholders is in line with the country’s Commodities Policy.

Under this concept, smallholders will be guided on practices to increase productivity as well as using quality palm oil based products that is in accordance with the priciples as well as sustainable palm oil production.
To ensure that the sustainable palm oil production’s objective is achieved, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board is currently holding a campaign to certify smallholders as well as to provide them with awareness and exposure towards producing sustainable products.

“The government also encourages smallholders to cut down rubber trees aged 25 and above so that they can replant new trees. For this purpose the government has allocated RM1.02 billion for 2011 and 2013, The fund will be channelled through the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) under the palm oil National Key Result Area (NKEA).
“Under this programme, smallholders will be given RM9,000 in quality seedlings for each hectare of their plantation. The financial assistance also covers input and management aid according to the Good Agriculture Practices to ensure high quality produce,” he said.

Smallholders with plantations less than 2.5 hectares will also be qualified for the management assistance fund of RM500 a month for two years, he said and urged smallholders who qualify to immediately contact MPOB to apply for the assistance.

In the context of mechanisation, MPOB is also offering a discount scheme for smallholders who wish to purchase the cantas, a mechanised harvesting tool. Dompok said that RM5.3 million had been allocated under the scheme where smallholders would be entitled to RM1,000 for the purchase of each cantas.

During the event, he also launched MPOB Kota Marudu’s branch, the Kota Marudu Persatuan Pekebun Kecil Sawit Bumiputera Kota Marudu and presented assistance to qualified smallholders.


Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/11/13/various-incentives-for-oil-palm-smallholders-to-raise-output/#ixzz2C7EVyn8D

Monday, November 12, 2012

Govt should provide more assistance to oil palm smallholders under Budget 2013

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been asked to provide more assistance to smallholders under Budget 2013 in efforts to spur them to produce high quality oil palm fruits.

Malaysia Palm oil Board (MPOB) Chairman Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad said assistance can be extended in the form of replanting incentives, adopting new methods and latest technologies to plant oil palm.

He said smallholders in Peninsular Malaysia are given RM7,500 per hectare under the replanting scheme and RM9,000 for a hectare for smallholders in Sabah and Sarawak.
“We want to see assistance being extended in the form of high-yield oil palm seedlings, using good quality fertilisers and adopting the best method to plant oil palm,” he told a media conference yesterday.

Currently, 13.8 per cent (excluding Felda) of the five million hectares of oil palm estates were under smallholders, he said.
“With such incentives from the government, we hope the smallholders can increase their oil palm output and become more productive, if
possible equally high and of the same quality from oil palm estates owned by big plantation companies,” he said.
Shahrir also said the MPOB has established a cooperative to help smallholders with their activities in oil palm estates. — Bernama


Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/09/13/govt-should-provide-more-assistance-to-oil-palm-smallholders-under-budget-2013-shahrir/#ixzz2C2vuF2gz

Saturday, November 10, 2012

MPOB lancar MPOB F2 Super K

KOTA KINABALU 10 Sept. - Lembaga Minyak Sawit Malaysia (MPOB) hari ini melancarkan formulasi baja bio dikenali sebagai baja MPOB F2 Super K sempena Persidangan Kebangsaan Pekebun Kecil Sawit 2012 di sini.

Pengerusi MPOB, Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad berkata, baja MPOB F2 Super K itu dapat membekalkan nutrien seimbang dan sesuai digunakan di kawasan tanah gambut sekali gus mampu meningkatkan hasil sawit dan pendapatan pengusaha sawit.

"Penggunaan baja jenis ini yang mengandungi bahan mineral bermutu tinggi akan membantu tumbesaran pokok sawit di samping meningkatkan kecekapan penyusupan air dan mengekalkan nutrien serta meningkatkan kualiti tanah untuk jangka panjang.

"Ia juga membolehkan pertumbuhan yang lebih baik selain meningkatkan kecekapan dan nilai baja," katanya pada Persidangan Kebangsaan Pekebun Kecil Sawit anjuran Lembaga Minyak Sawit Malaysia (MPOB), di sini hari ini.

Pelancaran baja baru itu disempurnakan Timbalan Menteri Perusahaan Perladangan dan Komoditi, Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin Hadir.

Pada majlis itu, MPOB turut menyerahkan mesin pemotong buah sawit bermotor dikenali sebagai Cantas kepada Koperasi Penanaman Sawit Mampan Daerah Tongod, Kunak, Kinabatangan, Tawau, Beluran dan Keningau.



Artikel Penuh: http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/Korporat/20120911/ko_02/MPOB-lancar-MPOB-F2-Super-K#ixzz2BpajkgyO
© Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd

Saturday, November 3, 2012

AAR Seedling 8 Months After Field Planting

The AAR oil palm can be harvested two years after planting. The production of fresh fruit bunches for the first two years is 30% higher than normal DxP according to study.

The seedling were planted in Mac 2012 and now is about 8 months after field planting.

Overripe Bunches

My four years old oil palm (planted 2008). Harvesting suppose to be every two week but no worker this month resulting late harvest.