PALMOILMAGAZINE, KUALA LUMPUR — The Ministry of Plantation and Commodities Malaysia has approved a palm oil plantation replanting program covering 3,599 hectares, managed under the smallholders’ replanting financing scheme through TSPKS 2.0. This initiative is part of the Malaysian government’s efforts to boost national palm oil plantation productivity.
Datuk Chan Foong Hin, Vice Minister of Plantation and Commodities Malaysia, announced that 1,440 hectares are already part of the replanting program, while an additional 550 hectares are still under monitoring. The program is aligned with Malaysia’s goal to reach a replanting target of 5,900 hectares by the end of this year.
“If every replanting project is successfully carried out this year, we anticipate a revenue allocation of up to RM 100 million for the program,” Datuk Chan stated during a Q&A session in the Malaysian legislature, as quoted by Palmoilmagazine.com from Bernama on Thursday (31/10/2024).
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The replanting initiative is aimed at qualifying private smallholders who meet the program’s terms and conditions. The goal is to replace aging palm oil trees—typically between nine and eighteen years old—with more productive ones, which is expected to increase both fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yields and crude palm oil (CPO) production across the country.
The ministry plans to implement the replanting program annually, targeting 4% of Malaysia’s total palm oil plantations, which cover approximately 5.7 million hectares. In 2022, about 97,130 hectares (1.7%) were replanted, while in 2023, the replanting area expanded to 132,000 hectares (2.3%).
By implementing the program, Datuk Chan would be optimist that CPO production would be increasing up to 1,5 million tons. In the past three years, Malaysia got the positive trend in FFB production, from 91,39 million tons in 2021, to be 94,8 million tons in 2022, and 94,9 million tons in 2023. CPO production did increase in phase or from 18,12 million tons in 2021, to be 18,45 million tons in 2022.
The replanting program should also encourage the sustainability of palm oil industries in the country when global scale – competition get closer and reinforce plantation contribution to the economy nationally. (P2)
