KUALA LUMPUR: MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd says 100 per cent of raw sugar in "Gula Prai" brand products are sourced from Wilmar's No Deforestration and No People Exploitation (NDPE) initiative.
MSM, the national refined sugar producer, said the NDPE ambition was to make sugarcane production environmentally sustainable and to improve the livelihoods of the people involved.
MSM group chief executive officer Syed Feizal Syed Mohammad said to fully grasp the extent of supply chain visibility and traceability, one of the core attributes of the NDPE sugar policy ensured that sugar sourcing was mapped out to all refineries and requires specific information to be readily available.
Through mapping, the full extent of supply chain visibility can be observed to enable traceability of the origin of sugar sources.
"MSM is proud that Gula Prai has been the most popular and remains the iconic choice among consumers and food and beverages industry players in Malaysia for more than half a century, since 1964.
"To commemorate this achievement, the new Gula Prai consumer packaging will have the NDPE Sugar logo. MSM continuously seeks to enhance our environmental, social and governance commitment in food production and establish a stronger market presence locally and globally as an integrated sustainable sugar refiner."
Syed Feizal added that through the collaboration with Wilmar Sugar, the world's leading player in sugar commodity and its NDPE Sugar initiative, MSM was able to signify sustainability in its operations and business.
Most importantly, the NDPE initiative commenced at the very first line of supply chain ecosystem of MSM product, which was raw sugar sourcing, he said.
According to Wilmar, the NDPE policy's development was built around expanding and developing long-term partnerships with suppliers and buyers while embracing various sustainability tools and programmes.
Currently, MSM operates two sugar refineries, one in Prai, Penang with an annual production capacity of 1.05 million tonnes of refined sugar, and in Tanjung Langsat, Johor with an annual production capacity of one million tonnes of refined sugar.
Wilmar Sugar operates an integrated sugar business across the entire value chain from sugar cane plantations to processing, merchandising and distribution of sweetener products.