MPOB: 96.04 pct of oil palm estates have achieved MSPO certification

KUALA LUMPUR: As of June 30, some 3,040 oil palm estates or 96.04 per cent of the total, comprising 4.06 million hectares, have obtained the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification, up from the 1,753 estates (71.1 per cent) comprising 2.97 million hectares on Dec 31, 2019.

In a statement, Malaysian

Palm Oil Board (MPOB) directorgeneral Dr Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir said in addition to this, 400 palm oil mills or 88.50 per cent had obtained the MSPO certification on June 30, 2020 compared with 340 palm oil mills or 75.2 per cent on Dec 31, 2019.

“The increase follows warning letters issued to 100 palm oil mills on Jan 28, 2020.

“Warning letters were also issued to estate owners who had yet to begin the process of MSPO certification on Feb 12, 2020,” he said.

He said as of May 31, 2020, the percentage of smallholders with MSPO certification was 24.82 per cent for independent smallholders with an area of 243,666 hectares, and 99.07 per cent for 231,576 organised smallholders with 670,010 hectares.

Due to the low rate of implementation of MSPO certification among smallholders especially independent smallholders, MPOB extended the MSPO mandatory enforcement period for smallholders by six months until June 30, 2020, he said.

The MSPO certification enforcement for smallholders would begin on July 1, 2020, based on several considerations, including the commitment of private smallholders to MSPO certification implementation, with the number registered for MSPO certification in the sustainable palm oil clusters ( SPOCs) still low. — Bernama