KUCHING, Dec 17: Any oil palm mill that wants to close their operations for more than two days must inform the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) no less than 14 days from the date of closure effective Jan 1, 2023.
The Ministry of Plantation and Commodities (KPK) in a statement today said the decision made would be part of the conditions imposed on licence holders of the oil palm mill (MF) category.
“This instruction has been notified to the MF through Circular PK (EL) MPOB 02/2022 on Dec 7 this year,” it said.
The decision came following the recent issue raised by Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen who allegedly said he had received complaints from oil palm smallholders that a palm oil mill in Lundu has restricted the purchase of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) of oil palm.
The Ministry said the MPOB through its Sarawak regional office has conducted early investigation on the case which the oil palm mill was identified as FGV Palm Industries Sdn Bhd (FGVPI) in Sampadi, Lundu.
“According to FGVPI, its management has issued a notice dated Nov 24, 2022 to inform the external oil palm fruit suppliers or smallholders that on the dates of Dec 1 until Dec 8, 2022, the mill will carry out the annual mill inspection by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH).
“Therefore, the mill cannot receive or deal with FFB from the oil palm smallholders during the period in question to ensure the quality of the oil palm products that will be processed by the mill is in good condition. It (the notice) is a proactive action by FGVPI so that the smallholders can plan their sales in advance,” it added. — DayakDaily
