KUCHING: Sixty per cent of the over 1.5 million oil palm plantations including smallholdings across Sarawak have obtained the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC) official portal.
The MPOCC website also revealed that 70 per cent of the 81 palm oil mills in the state had been certified as of Aug 31.
Contacted by The Borneo Post yesterday, Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) Sarawak director Murphy Solomon said industry players with 100 acres and below of oil palm planted areas are classified as smallholders.
According to him, the MSPO certification is free for smallholders.
“All cost(s) to train and guide them (smallholders) until they are audit-ready (are borne) by MPOB,” he said.
A statement dated Oct 4 issued by MPOB cautioned that oil palm industry players who failed to obtain the MSPO certification by Dec 31 this year will face penalty.
Effective Jan 1, 2020, oil palm estates, smallholders and mills without the MSPO certification are committing an offence under the MPOB (Licensing) 2005 Regulation No. 15.
The board said those who failed to comply with the regulation will be penalised or have their licences suspended or revoked.
The mandatory certification is aimed at enhancing the image of the country’s palm oil in terms of sustainability as well as to fulfil the demand for certified palm oil in global markets starting next year.
The federal government is offering incentives to lessen the burden borne by the palm oil industry players in meeting the requirements of the MSPO certification.
Only those who successfully obtain the certification or begin the process of certification before Jan 1 next year are eligible for the incentives.
From Jan 1, 2020, all certification costs will have to be borne by the industry players themselves.
The MSPO Certification Scheme is for oil palm plantations, independent and organised smallholders and palm oil processing facilities.
The scheme provides for the development of certification standards, accreditation requirements and notification of certification bodies, application by potential clients for certification audits, supply chain traceability requirements, guidelines for auditing, peer reviewing of audit reports, issuance of logo usage licences and procedures for handling of complaints.
There are two types of certification – oil palm management certification and supply chain certification.
Oil palm management certification is a process that sets the standards for responsible management of palm oil plantations, smallholdings and palm oil processing facilities.
The process is run by an accredited third party certification body to assess and verify that the oil palm management is in compliance with the requirements as prescribed in the MSPO standards.
Supply chain certification applies to parties (mainly companies) that process, trade or manufacture palm oil from certified oil palm management units.
It shows the link of the palm oil (product) from the mill to the final product, keeping certified palm oil product separated from its uncertified counterpart, thus ensuring the value of certification right through the value chain to the customer.