KUALA LUMPUR: Sime Darby Bhd expects its estates throughout Peninsular Malaysia to be MSPO-certified by the first quarter of 2018, said its plantation division chief executive officer Datuk Franki Anthony Dass.
Compliance with the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification is mandatory for all oil palm planters in the country by the end of 2019.
“We’re committed to have our estates throughout Peninsular Malaysia to be MSPO-certified by the first quarter of 2018. Then the other estates in Sabah and Sarawak will follow suit,” said Franki.
Currently, Sime Darby is the world’s largest producer of certified sustainable palm oil, accounting for 2.43 million tonnes a year or 20 per cent of global production by capacity.
Franki was speaking with reporters today after the company’s shareholders meeting, here, today.
Sime Darby's 602,732ha oil palm estates stretch across Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Liberia. This excludes over 91,000ha of smallholders programmes in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
The MSPO is essentially a reflection of an unified code of laws concerning best practices throughout the supply chain, from oil palm planting to palm oil processing.
When an estate or mill or refinery is MSPO-certified, it confirms oil palm cultivation and palm oil production is being carried out on a balanced needs of “People, Profits and Planet”.
Earlier this year, the European Parliament passed a resolution to introduce a single certification scheme for palm oil entering the European Union and phase out its use in biodiesel by 2020.
The MSPO is seen as the national and government-driven standard that will pave the future of sustainable palm oil exports to the European Union (EU).
Franki highlighted that Sime Darby, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK), Felda Global Ventures Holding Bhd (FGV) and IOI Corp Bhd will be sending the first MSPO-certified shipment to the EU.
“It’s the four of us; Sime Darby, KLK, FGV and IOI ... we’ll be sending the first MSPO-certified cargo to Europe via Rotterdam before the end of this year,” he said.