MPIC formulating national OPT development plan
BANGI: The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) is currently formulating the National Oil Palm Trunk (OPT) Development Plan that will focus on the use of OPT as a new source of raw material, said its Minister, Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong.
He said biomass such as kenaf, wood biocomposite, OPT and other biofibre were being hailed as the future resources of the 21st Century and the Malaysian palm oil industry produced 6.3 million tonnes of dry OPT last year.
“Several measures have been taken by the government including promoting the sustainable use of OPT in the production of primary processed wood products such as plywood and high valueadded timber products such as furniture,” Mah said in his speech during the opening of Wood and
Several measures have been taken by the government including promoting the sustainable use of OPT in the production of primary processed wood products such as plywood and high value-added timber products such as furniture. Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong, Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities
Biofibre International Conference (Wobic 2017) here yesterday.
Mah said the usage of OPT could reduce dependency on raw materials from tropical wood and rubber wood.
He also said the timber and wood industry had performed well this year, with export exceeding RM17 billion from January to September 2017, an increase of six per cent compared with the same period last year.
“Export is expected to reach RM23 billion by year-end,” he added.
Mah said increasing emphasis on green materials had led to the utilisation of biomass material and the biomass industry had a huge potential to become a game changer for the country.
Wobic 2017 which began today until Thursday was organised by the Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products, Universiti Putra Malaysia.
A total of 200 participants from 10 countries including Canada, Japan, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia and Tunisia attended the conference. — Bernama