Detail

Malaysia

Oilseeds, oils and meals

Palm oil

01/08/2020

Other

Environmental policies (production sustainability)

Reported that the majority of the country’s oil palm plantations and palm oil mills had obtained the Government-sponsored Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification. Moreover, nearly all of the country’s organized smallholders had been certified, while the training of independent smallholders in implementing best agricultural practices for eventual admission to MSPO group-certification schemes continued.

MALAYSIA – mandatory palm oil certification: Official sources provided the following update regarding the implementation of the country’s mandatory sustainability certification: as of 30 July, more than 85 percent of Malaysia’s 5.9 million hectares of oil palm plantations and around 90 percent of the country’s 452 palm oil mills obtained the Government-sponsored Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification. In addition, nearly all of the country’s organized smallholders, who cultivate 679 thousand hectares of plantations, have been certified. Meanwhile, the training of independent smallholders in implementing best agricultural practices for eventual admission to MSPO’s group certification schemes continued. Meanwhile, as of July, 162 clusters of independent smallholders involving 62 thousand growers with 238 thousand hectares managed to obtain certification. In regard to independent smallholders, certification proves particularly challenging due to the absence of valid land titles and/or the use of temporary land titles and part-time or contract farming.