OIL PALM SECTOR'S CONTRIBUTION TO GNI POISED TO HIT US$59.3 BLN BY 2020

KOTA KINABALU (Sabah, Malaysia) June 6 (Bernama) -- The oil palm sector's
contribution to the Gross National Income (GNI) is poised to hit the RM178
billion (US$59.33 billion) mark by 2020.

In disclosing this today, Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities
Bernard Dompok said this represented a marked increase of RM125 billion
(US$41.66 billion) compared to the 2009 contribution of RM52.7 billion (US$17.56
billion).

To realise this, he said eight Entry Point Projects (EPPs) had been
identified and these include the replanting of old oil palm trees with high
yielding oil palm, improving fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yield through improved
agronomic practices, increasing workers productivity through improved techniques
and increasing the oil extraction rate (OER) at palm oil mills.

Dompok said among the measures to be taken to implement the EPPs were
the provision of replanting grants to smallholders, the setting up of
Sustainable Palm Oil Clusters (SPOC), stationing Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB)
enforcement officers at palm oil mills and implementing a Code of Practices at
mills to improve the OER.

"All these actions are geared toward increasing productivity," he said when
opening the National Seminar on Biogas and Palm Oil Mill Effluent Treatment,
here.

Also present were State Industrial Development Minister Raymond Tan and MPOB
chairman, Shahrir Abdul Samad.

He said the ministry had targeted the national FFB yield per hectare to
increase from 18.03 tonnes per hectare per year in 2010 to 26 tonnes per hectare
per year by 2020.

"As for the mills, the target is to increase the OER from 20.45 per cent in
2010 to 23 per cent in 2020. Under the EPP, all mills are targeted to trap
biogas from palm oil mill effluent by 2020.

"If all these productivity measures are successfully implemented, they are
expected to contribute an additional RM33.1 billion to the GNI," he said.

Dompok said virtually all mills had responded to MPOB's survey on palm
oil mill effluent (POME) and biogas in November last year and there were now 38
mills with biogas trapping facilities and 34 under construction.

"Another 47 mills are planning to have biogas trapping facilities at various
stages until 2020. Within the industry, Felda has made a serious and extensive
commitment on biogas trapping," he added.

He said Felda, the land development agency, is expected to have a total of
59 biogas plants implemented throughout the country by 2015 and a number of
these would be connected to the national grid.

In this respect, Dompok urged other larger plantation companies to emulate
Felda.