BANGI, July 7 (Bernama) — The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has approved applications for a total of RM41.974 million by smallholders for replantation exercise involving 6,995ha, MPOB director-general Datuk Dr Mohd Basri Wahid said.

As at July 2, more than RM1 million had been disbursed involving 186ha, he told Bernama in an interview recently.

He said smallholders who had been given the approval to carry out replantation should start cutting down their oil palm trees aged more than 25 years as soon as possible.

“This will benefit the smallholders in the palm industry,” he said.

He said the amount set aside for disbursement to stimulate the country’s oil palm sector this year was RM50.134 million. According to MOPB statistics, 46,061ha oil palm holdings belonging to 24,763 smallholders nationwide can be replanted.

Under the second stimulus package, the government allocated RM6,000 in aid per hectare for oil palm replantation. This was in addition to the 2008 Oil Palm Replantation Incentive Scheme worth RM1,000 per hectare implemented by the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry since Dec 1 last year.

Basri also said that the government had allocated RM100 million under the second stimulus package to assist oil palm smallholders until Dec 2010 and among the objectives was to speed up the replantation exercise under the 2008 scheme.

This would reduce palm oil production and the country’s stock, hence balancing the price of palm oil, he said.

— BERNAMA Source : Bernama by Wan Nor Azura Mior Abd Aziz

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