16/11/2010 (Bernama) - Keresa Plantations Sdb Bhd, the first Sarawakian-owned oil palm plantation company to ontain the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification, is looking at a crude oil palm (CPO) production of 27,000 tonnes per hectares, its managing director Graeme Iain Brown said on Tuesday.

He said the small-sized plantation company, which owned the 6,023 hectare site in tubau, Bintulu, was also in the process of looking at various parties, including Sime Darby and Wilmar International, to work out some agreements in the next few weeks.

"We are open to all (export) markets for our CPO production of 30,000 tonnes a year," he told reporters after the presentation of certifacate here.

Also present were Keresa Plantations' chairman Datuk Amar Leonard Linggi Jugah, who is also chairman of Keresa Mill Sdn Bhd, and BSI Group Asean managing director Alwi Abdul Hafiz.

Brown said the company was working on scheme to include neighbouring indigenous smallholders to send their CPO products to its mill besides similar certifications for another three Keresa-owned plantations totalling 16,000 hectares between Bintulu and Miri.

There was a need for the company to review the way business was practised, especially as countries like the Netherlands were committed to source 100% certified sustainable palm oil by 2015 as well as by major manufacturers or retailers like Unilever, Body Shop and Tesco, he said.

Brown said the common perception in Europe was that Sarawak was cutting its rainforest and it was frequently alleged with deforestation, environmental degradation and land disputes.

Alwi said the RSPO certification was a mechanism for responsible producers to demonstrate their commitment to producing sustainable palm oil and willingness to be subjected to continous audit by independent third parties.

He said only 7% or 3.2 million out of the total 45 million tonnes annual global production were certified at present, with Malaysia accounting for 65%, followed by Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

However, Alwi said that countries like India, Where palm oil imports had risen exponentially over the last 10 years and making up almost 50% of total current vegetable oil consumption, and China, P.R., the world's second largest consumer, were beginning to realise the importance of RSPO certification.

In Malaysia, palm oil exports were expected to be close to RM60 billion this year, he said.