Date : 10th January 2017
Venue : The Royale Chulan, Kuala Lumpur.
Reach & Remind, Friends of the Industry Seminar and Dialogue, is an annual event organized by Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) with the objective to highlight the important issues and opportunities in the Malaysian palm oil industry by way of a seminar-cum-dialogue and exhibition. The 8th edition of Reach & Remind, Friends of the Industry Seminar 2017 & Dialogue (R&R 2017) was held on 10th January 2017 at the Royale Chulan, Kuala Lumpur. The event was graced by YB Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong, Minister of Plantation Industries & Commodities (MPIC). It was also attended by Secretary General of MPIC, YBhg Datuk M. Nagarajan, Chairman of Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), YB Datuk Seri Hj. Ahmad bin Hj. Hamzah, Chairman of MPOC, YBhg Dato’ Lee Yeow Chor, Director-General of MPOB, Yang Berusaha Dr. Ahmad Kushairi Din and Chief Executive Officer of MPOC, YBhg Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Yusof Basiron. Stakeholders and members of the palm oil industry throughout Malaysia turned up for the event, giving their full support by attending the seminar and dialogue. A total of 410 participants turned up for the event with active participation from the palm oil associations during the dialogue session with YB Minister.
The event took off with the welcoming remarks to all the participants by Chief Executive Officer of MPOC, YBhg Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Yusof Basiron. In his welcoming speech, YBhg Tan Sri thanked all participants from the industry for their continuous participation and support of R&R 2017. He also highlighted that this platform is a great opportunity for members of the industry to meet and openly engage with YB Minister through dialogue that debates the upcoming challenges and opportunities in the current year and beyond.
During the seminar, four papers were presented. This year, all papers were presented by MPOC speakers, including the CEO and the Directors from the various divisions. All the papers discussed on current challenges and the initiatives taken by MPOC and MPIC to minimize or overcome the negative impact on the Malaysian palm oil market and industry.
Paper 1:
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Paper 2:
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Paper 3:
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Paper 4:
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In his keynote address, YB Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong emphasized on the common goal of the industry players, which is to ensure that our collective actions open the road for the well-being of the industry.
He also highlighted the contributions of the Malaysian Palm Oil Industry which has come over a long journey of 100 years and reminded all stakeholders of their contribution towards the development of the industry. He emphasized that the palm oil industry continues to feature as one of the major engines of economic growth, especially for rural economic development and by generating employment opportunities throughout the country. The Government has always recognized the importance of the palm oil sector and has taken measures to further enhance its performance from the upstream and the downstream subsectors. These are aimed at generating additional economic growth and a higher Gross National Income (GNI) for the nation as a whole. YB Datuk Seri also acknowledged the constant challenges that the industry is subjected to. Among these he touched on:
- Impact of TPPA implementation on market price
- Increasing market competition and thus the need for exploring new markets
- Labour shortage in upstream industry sector
- Ensuring sustainable markets for palm oil consumption
- Branding MSPO as a leading certification scheme
- Continuously improving smallholders income
- Maintain continuous palm oil production through yield enhancement
- Branding of Malaysian Palm Oil for better prices in the market
- Reducing contaminants during processing through a special budget allocation.
The Honourable Minister graced the soft launching of 100 Years of Malaysian Palm Oil Industry to commemorate the journey of the industry in developing the nation and uplifting the livelihood of fellow Malaysians. During this event, YB Minister launched:
- Logo of the 100 Years of Malaysian Palm Oil Industry
- World Palm Portraits Photography Competition
- Global Consumer Online Contest.
During the dialogue session, YB Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong, Minister of MPIC was joined by Secretary General of MPIC, YBhg Datuk M. Nagarajan, Chairman of MPOB, YB Datuk Seri Hj. Ahmad bin Hj. Hamzah, Chairman of MPOC, YBhg Dato’ Lee Yeow Chor, Director-General of MPOB, Yang Berusaha Dr. Ahmad Kushairi Din and Chief Executive Officer of MPOC, YBhg Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Yusof Basiron. The dialogue was moderated by Chairman of MPOC, YBhg Dato’ Lee Yeow Chor and lasted for about an hour. The dialogue was very lively with active participation from the palm oil industry representatives and other participants. Among the topics raised at the dialogue were :
- Sustainable development for smallholders
- Replanting scheme subsidy and its continuation to increase productivity of oil palm plantations
- MSPO to be branded as a leading certification scheme
- MSPO to be made mandatory for all oil palm growers with definite timeline of achievement
- Increase social media presence to counter malicious claims on palm oil industry
- CPOPC and other bodies to push for specific policies in handling NGOs spreading malicious information on palm oil
- Increase promotion programmes to uplift the image of Malaysian Palm Oil
- Aid for millers to minimize cost of mandatory upgrades for biogas capture and reducing other contaminants during processing
- Dealer to dealer trading of FFB to be reviewed for fair trade partnership
- Review on stringent standards imposed by DOE on discharge limit of effluent and BOD standards
- Transfer of technology which has been proven to be effective for reduction of emissions in mills
- Widespread ramification to palm oil trade in Malaysia due to establishment of FTZ ports
- Negotiations affecting biodiesel sales ex-Malaysia and Indonesia.
The forum ended with the launching of a book by Dr. C. Devendra entitled “Synergising Productivity Impacts from Oil Palm-Ruminants Silvopastoral Systems: The Unfinished Agenda”. The seminar ended after lunch at about 2.15pm.
All presentations (in PDF format) were made available for download via MPOC website, www.mpoc.org.my.
