25/10/2008 (Daily Express News), Sandakan - Smallholders here are complaining that several millers and fresh fruit bunch (FFB) collecting centres in the district are refusing to accept their FFB and have started restricting their deliveries, said the Democratic Action Party (DAP).

In a statement here, Friday the party claimed that palm oil refineries are restricting delivery of crude palm oil (CPO) to two trips (50 tonnes) for each miller due to storage space constraint in the refinery.

These in turn caused the millers' storage tanks to be filled up forcing the curtailment in the purchase of FFB from the smallholders.

The price of FFB has dropped to RM428 per tonne in September from RM708 in March this year and in Kudat, it was reported that the price was RM261 per tonne, said the party, adding that the downward trend in the FFB prices is going to continue.

According to Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) statistics, CPO prices in Malaysia have dropped from RM3,680.50 in March this year to RM1, 873.50 in October and has been traded for as low as RM1,556 and according to the party has thus caused a lot anxiety among smallholders in the State.

As such DAP called on the State government to put in place a subsidy programme to assist the smallholders using the State's coffers derived from the 7.5 per cent CPO sales tax.

The party also urged the Federal government to investigate why costs of fertilisers remain high although oil prices have dipped and suggested that the government put a price cap on fertilisers and chemicals, adding that the price of fertilisers has risen to about RM3,300 per tonne compared to RM2,000 in March this year.