Tuesday, November 15, 2011

M'sia to focus on growing oil palm downstream segment, says Minister

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 15): Malaysia will emphasise on growing the downstream segment of its oil palm sector, a move deemed crucial to mitigate limited PLANTATION [] land in the country, said Plantation and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.

He said the downstream oleochemicals sector holds high potential to generate more income for the oil palm sector.

"We need to go further downstream," Bernard told reporters at the Palm Oil International Conference here on Tuesday, Nov 15.

He also said the upstream segment needed to boost productivity by increasing CPO output from 4 tonnes per hectare a year to 6 tonnes due to land constraints.

At 4.85 million hectares or 15% of land in the country, land designated for oil palm is almost reaching the maximum designated portion because the country has to maintain 50% of its land under forest cover, he said.

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