MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Govt To Organise Briefings, Roadshows On MSPO Certification For Oil Palm Smallholders
Govt To Organise Briefings, Roadshows On MSPO Certification For Oil Palm Smallholders
28/02/2017 (Bernama) - The government will organise more than 100 briefings and roadshows up to next year, to create awareness among the 550,000 oil palm smallholders on the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification.
Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong said the government-driven initiative would visit all remote areas in Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak.
Speaking to reporters during a working visit to Food Premium Corporation, a palm oil coconut milk producer here Monday, he said the ministry aimed to increase the number of certification bodies with more affordable prices for the smallholders.
To be made mandatory by Dec 2019, the MSPO is a unified code of laws concerning best practices throughout the supply chain, from the planting of oil palm to processing palm oil.
The objective of the certification is to facilitate better palm oil market access via multilateral or bilateral free trade agreements with buyers.
“We want this to be carried out in stages from 2018 onwards,” Mah said.
He said Malaysia would like to raise the standards among the smallholders.
“This is so that their products can easily have access to the European Union (EU) market, which is the second biggest for Malaysian palm oil,” he added.
In 2016, Malaysia’s export of palm oil and palm-based products to the EU was recorded at RM10.30 billion, an increase of 4.14 per cent from RM9.89 billion previously. — Bernama
Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong said the government-driven initiative would visit all remote areas in Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak.
Speaking to reporters during a working visit to Food Premium Corporation, a palm oil coconut milk producer here Monday, he said the ministry aimed to increase the number of certification bodies with more affordable prices for the smallholders.
To be made mandatory by Dec 2019, the MSPO is a unified code of laws concerning best practices throughout the supply chain, from the planting of oil palm to processing palm oil.
The objective of the certification is to facilitate better palm oil market access via multilateral or bilateral free trade agreements with buyers.
“We want this to be carried out in stages from 2018 onwards,” Mah said.
He said Malaysia would like to raise the standards among the smallholders.
“This is so that their products can easily have access to the European Union (EU) market, which is the second biggest for Malaysian palm oil,” he added.
In 2016, Malaysia’s export of palm oil and palm-based products to the EU was recorded at RM10.30 billion, an increase of 4.14 per cent from RM9.89 billion previously. — Bernama