KUALA LUMPUR: The Palm Oil Refiners Association of Malaysia is appealing to the Sabah government to allow industry players and its supply chains to work in unison during the extended movement control order (MCO) period.

This is simply to avoid operational disruption for the benefit of the consumers and economy as a whole, its chairman, Jamil Haron said in a statement.

“Without a constant supply of crude palm oil, the refineries have to shut down, leading to loss of revenue, layoffs and a host of other problems, not mentioning a cut-off in the supply of cooking oil in the domestic market,” he said.

Similarly, he said palm oil mills, particularly the smaller ones with no plantation back-up and supports to sustain their business during the MCO period were in the same predicament.

Moreover, many refineries had earlier sold and entered into forward contracts with their buyers overseas and these have to be honoured and fulfilled lest they be defaulted.

The plight of those in the ancillary services such as trading companies, which do not have manufacturing facilities but lay a vital role in connecting the refinery to the overseas end buyers, must also be taken into consideration.

In fact, Jamil said they also have orders to fulfil such as to get their supplies from the refinery for onward shipment to their destination buyer.

Other key services include inland transportation, haulage, freight forwarding, bulk installations, cargo surveying, inspection, and analytical laboratories.

The state government, on March 30, extended the shutdown of oil palm plantations until April 14 and expanded the order to six districts.

Previously, it ordered oil palm plantations and palm oil mills in three districts to close until March 31 after seven estate workers were tested positive for Covid-19.

Sabah is the country’s biggest oil palm-producing state, contributing 25 per cent of Malaysia’s total palm oil in 2019. — Bernama

Source : The Borneo Post