30/07/2010 (The Star Online), Kota Kinabalu - As the nation’s third biggest palm oil producer, Sabah must not repeat the mistakes made in its timber industry by ignoring the need to develop downstream activities, Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman said.

Sabah currently produces 5.4 million tonnes of crude palm oil, nearly one third of Malaysia’s annual production of 17.5 million tonnes of the commodity.

The state’s palm oil industry also produces 27 million tonnes of biomass or waste products such as empty fruit bunches, fronds and trunks.

“Biofertilisers from the waste can be used to replace chemical ones and empty fruit bunches can be used to produce paper, briquette and pellets.

“Palm fatty acid distillate can be used to produce bio diesel,” Musa said after launching the Palmex 2010 oil palm industry exhibition here yesterday. He said a similar situation faced the state timber sector several decades ago.

“But today, we can hardly claim to have a downstream timber industry.We were probably in a comfort zone then and before we knew it, we were left behind.