The Star Online (24/05/2021) - KUALA LUMPUR: Boustead Plantations Bhd is allocating RM115mil as capital and replanting expenditure for 2021 to strengthen its long-term prospects, chief executive officer Ibrahim Majid said.

He said the allocation will go towards replanting approximately 2,600 hectares of land and for the upkeep of immature areas, as well as for the installation of four additional units of the dust particulate trapping system and in palm oil mills.

"This is being carried out progressively and is on track to be completed by end-2021, in line with the Department of Environment’s Environment Quality (Clean Air) Regulation 2014,” he said in the company’s annual report shared with Bursa Malaysia.

Ibrahim noted that without a doubt, the year ahead will bring fair its share of challenges to the company but what is important is that the company stand firm and sustain the momentum it has built to propel towards realising the group’s aspirations for sustainable long-term growth, in strong alignment with the Reinventing Boustead strategy.

He said the volatile environment brought about by COVID-19 is expected to persist despite positive developments with the commencement of the national vaccination programme.

Albeit these disruptions, crude palm oil (CPO) prices have remained on an uptrend, picking up in early-2021 to cross the RM4,000 per tonne threshold, their highest level since March 2008, an indicative of the less than expected production and dwindling stocks.

Poor weather conditions in Southeast Asia from late-2020 into the early part of 2021 have significantly impacted production, leading to the low supply.

"Although CPO prices are being shored up by tight palm oil inventories currently, palm oil production is expected to see a recovery by 4.4 million tonnes in the year ahead, which will have a moderating effect on prices should this materialise.

"We are also mindful of India’s price sensitivities and growing oilseed crops, and China’s increasing soybean imports which may hamper demand for palm oil. Nonetheless, challenges such as labour shortages due to border closure,” he added. – Bernama

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2021/05/24/boustead-plantations039-rm115m-plan-for-replanting