Draw up oil palm replanting plans to sustain productivity, deputy minister tells industry
12/03/2025 (Bernama), Kuala Lumpur - The Ministry of Plantation and Commodities is urging oil palm plantation owners and companies to plan for replanting in order to sustain productivity with mature trees that provide optimal fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yields.
Deputy Minister Datuk Chan Foong Hin said that scheduled replanting programmes to reduce the acreage of old trees would help maintain farm productivity with mature trees aged 10 to 15 years.
“Palm trees older than 25 years are unproductive, and their heights also make harvesting difficult and increase labour costs.
“The rising number of old palm trees owing to the low replanting rate is also affecting the industry’s productivity,” he said when winding up the debate on the motion of thanks for the royal address in the Dewan Negara on Wednesday.
According to Chan, the average replanting rate for oil palm estates in the 2014-2024 period was only about 2.2%, much lower than the recommended rate of 4% to 5%.
“However, based on statistics from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, the average FFB yield in estates has shown an increase in the past three consecutive years despite the replanting rate remaining below the recommended level.
“The FFB yield increased from 15.47 tonnes per hectare in 2021 to 15.49 tonnes per hectare in 2022, 15.79 tonnes per hectare in 2023 and 16.70 tonnes per hectare in 2024,” he said.
Chan said the ministry will therefore continue to implement strategic measures to increase FFB yields in estates, and ensure that Malaysia's palm oil industry remains competitive and continues to contribute to national economic growth.