PALMOILMAGAZINE, PELALAWAN – Around 400 smallholders from Koperasi Kelapa Sawit Jasa Sepakat staged a protest on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, in front of the first mill of PT Sari Lembah Subur (SLS) in Kerumutan Subdistrict, Pelalawan Regency. They were dissatisfied with the company’s policy on fresh fruit bunch (FFB) pricing.
As reported by Palmoilmagazine.com from Catatanriau.com, the smallholders claimed that many had suffered losses due to unfair and abnormal discount pricing. They also raised concerns about the FFB purchasing process at the mill.
Additionally, they protested the company’s failure to implement a 4% incentive, as mandated by the Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture (RMA) Number 01/PERMENTAN/KB.120/1/2018, which also involved changes in the grading system to 2.5% based on tonnage and the extension of FFB processing time at the mill.
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The smallholders thought, the mediation was running but had no satisfied results. They considered their aspirations were not fully accommodated by the company. That was why they did protest as one pressure (for the company).
When the protest took place, the management representative of PT SLS met some smallholders to get dialogue. The management mentioned they just realized every available regulation and suggested to keep protesting to the head quarter of the company. Even there was dialogue, there was no conclusion.
The demonstration ran peacefully and ended in the evening. The smallholders insisted to keep fighting for their rights to make everything happen. (P2)
