29/04/2017 (Bernama.com) - TELUK INTAN - The area under oil palm cultivation throughout the country to have received the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification up to March this year stands at 245,754 hectares.

Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong said the figure embraces 238,545 hectares owned by plantation companies and involving 74 estates, while 3,868 hectares are two clusters under the planned oil palm cultivation, as well as 3,341 hectares involving 15 Sustainable Palm Oil Clusters (SPOC).

"The total area certified under the MSPO is expected to double by year-end," he added.

Mah, who is also the Teluk Intan Member of Parliament told reporters this after officiating a MSPOB riefing attended by about 200 participants comprising smallholders, estate owners, plantation companies and palm oil millers here today.

He said to date, the area under oil palm cultivation in the country was at 5.74 million hectares and almost 40 per cent of it was being worked by about 600,000 smallholders.

Mah said the MSPO which has been in force from 2015 is a standard code of law on best practices throughout the supply chain, and from the planting of oil palm to the processing of palm oil.

He also said the objective of the certification is to assist with better market access for palm oil through multilateral or bilateral trade deals with the buyer and at the same time, improve the image of the commodity from the perspective of sustainability.

He said to create awareness among smallholders on the MSPO certification, his ministry was organising briefings and roadshows throughout the country this year, with the focus on those areas that have a high concentration of smallholders.

"It includes Segamat and Kluang in Johor, Shah Alam and Bestari Jaya in Selangor, Kuching, Sibu, Miri and Bintulu in Sarawak, as well as Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Tawau and Lahad Datu in Sabah, along side Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu.

"We will go all out to have the briefings to ensure the smallholders are not left out and also benefit from the MSPO certification.We will also take on board the problems and fears of a section of the smallholders who are in the process of acquiring the certification," he added.

Meanwhile, Mah said last year the export of palm oil and palm oil related products was worth RM67.6 billion and contributed 8.6 per cent to the overall export of goods for the country.