KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — The Plantation and Commodities Ministry (KPK) has approved 3,599 hectares (ha) of land for oil palm replanting under the Oil Palm Smallholders Replanting Financing Incentive Programme (TSPKS 2.0) as of October.
Its deputy minister Datuk Chan Foong Hin said 1,441ha of land for oil palm replanting under the programme are currently being processed, while 550ha are in KIV (keep in view) status.
“For this year, we are targeting 5,900ha for oil palm replanting.
“If all these (replanting projects) are carried out this year, we will be able to utilise the entire RM100 million allocated for this year,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Chan was responding to Tangga Batu MP Bakri Jamaluddin's supplementary question on the ministry’s efforts to increase palm commodity production.
This year, the government allocated RM100 million under the TSPKS 2.0 programme, specifically for eligible private smallholders.
He said this effort is expected to increase the number of fully mature palm trees nine to 18 years old that are more productive in the long term, subsequently helping to enhance the productivity of fresh fruit bunch (FFB) in the country.
Meanwhile, KPK is targeting a 4.0 per cent rate in palm replanting areas annually out of the 5.7 million ha of land maintained for oil palm plantation.
Chan said the oil palm replanting rate was 97,130ha (1.7 per cent) in 2022 and 132,000ha (2.3 per cent) in 2023.
If this is successfully implemented, the country could increase its production by 1.5 million tonnes of crude palm oil (CPO).
Similarly, the production of FFB in Malaysia in the last three years showed an increasing trend.
“In 2021, FFB production was 91.39 million tonnes, it increased to 94.8 million tonnes in 2022 and to 94.9 million tonnes in 2023.
“For CPO production, it also increased from 18.12 million tonnes in 2021 to 18.45 million tonnes in 2022 and to 18.55 million tonnes in 2023,” he said.
— Bernama
