Soppoa hopes govt addresses low prices, yields affecting Sarawak planters

KUCHING: The Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners Association (Soppoa) has lauded Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok’s statement that the government remains committed to further developing the palm oil industry.

In a press statement yesterday, Soppoa said it was encouraged that the government will not only lay down a policy framework to further develop the industry, but also provide assistance and supporting environment to ensure sustainable development and competitiveness.

“Soppoa is hopeful that the ministry will look into the various issues of low prices and low yields which are adversely affecting planters in Sarawak.

“Sarawak oil palm planters are the youngest compared to those in the peninsula and Sabah and so are still heavily in debt due to the huge loans for these new estates,” it said.

Soppoa revealed that based on Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) statistics, the monthly average price for crude palm oil (CPO) in 2017 was RM2,686 per tonne while the June 2018 price of CPO is only RM2,324 per tonne.

It added the drop of RM362 per tonne has highly impacted oil palm planters in Sarawak, who are also beset with low yields.

“For example, the average yield for Malaysia in 2017 for fresh fruit bunch (FFB) was 17.89 tonnes per hectare, according to MPOB statistics, while Sarawak’s average yield was only 16.13 tonne per hectare. This means that planters in Sarawak are faced with higher cost per hectare of planted oil palm compared to those in other parts of Malaysia,” it pointed out.

According to Soppoa further, the low prices and low yields are causing Sarawak planters serious

Soppoa is hopeful that the ministry will look into the various issues of low prices and low yields which are adversely affecting planters in Sarawak. Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners Association (Soppoa) statement

concern of being able to break even – let alone make any profit – with the results clearly reflected in the 1st Quarter results of Sarawak plantation companies announced recently.

Soppoa also urged the government to provide more research inputs into increasing yields for oil palms planted in Sarawak to enable planters to be competitive with those in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah.

It added that another area of great concern for the oil palm industry in Sarawak was the proposed increase of minimum wage by August 2018 as announced by the Human Resources Minister recently.

“Any increase in the cost of production, such as wages, will impact heavily on the bottom line of planters in the state and make them even less competitive.

“It is the wish of the industry here that the government will seriously consider the issue of increase of minimum wages in the plantation sector at this juncture, where weak commodity prices are already causing much burden on the industry here.”

Soppoa said it hopes the government will hold dialogues with industry players in Sarawak before implementing measures that will negatively impact the industry here.