Tuesday, December 07 2004 - KULIM (Malaysia) Bhd and TopPlant Laboratories Sdn Bhd have entered into a joint venture to produce high yielding oil palm clones using tissue culture technology.
The venture will be undertaken by a new company called Kulim TopPlant SdnBhd.
Kulim managing director Ahamad Mohamad yesterday signed the agreement withTopPlant managing director Jason Chee at the Kulim sports and recreation club house in Ulu Tiram, Johor.
Ahamad said Kulim would take 60 per cent equity in the new company, and TopPlant the remaining 40 per cent.
He said the shareholders have injected RM5 million into the company, which has an authorised capital of RM10 million.
Ahamad said that Kulim will construct a purpose-built tissue culture production laboratory at the Kulim Agrotech Centre in Kota Tinggi, Johor,at a cost of RM6.3million.
The production will be leased to the new joint-venture company.
He said that over the last 10 years, Kulim had achieved oil palm yields that are among the highest in the industry.
"But there is now a dire need to achieve a quantum leap in sustainable productivity. Planting high-yielding tissue cultured clones is a strategic move to achieve this objective," he said.
Ahamad said there is adequate scientific data to show that palm tissue cultured clones increase fresh fruit bunch yield by 30 to 40 per cent and oil extraction ratio by 2 to 3 per cent.
"The overall yield could be 9 to 11 tonnes of palm oil per hectare as compared to the current seedling material, which yields between 6 and 8 tonnes of palm oil per hectare," he said.
Ahamad said TopPlant had almost two decades of experience in producing tissue cultured plants using their state-of-the-art production facilities in the country while collaborating with foreign breeders and crop producers.
He said TopPlant's Lenggeng facility in Negri Sembilan is the largest plant tissue facility in the country and the joint-venture is a natural extension of its management and technical expertise in plant tissue culture.
Ahamad said that while awaiting the completion of the new production facility, TopPlant will embark on a 30 per cent expansion of its facilities, which is expected to be completed in six months.
"Nonetheless, oil palm cloning work will start immediately in the existing facilities," he added.