FGV Expects to Benefit from Jakarta's Decision to Lift Palm Oil Export Ban

FGV Holdings Bhd, which owns about 5% of oil palm plantations in Indonesia, expects to benefit from Jakarta’s recent decision to lift the ban on palm oil exports, group chief executive officer Mohd Nazrul Izam Mansor said.

Nevertheless, he said that the price of crude palm oil is projected to go down to between RM4, 200 and RM5, 000 per ton in Malaysia.

“We hope to cover back what we had lost during the three-week period,” he told reporters at FGV Hari Raya Open House.

Indonesia had announced the ban on export of palm oil beginning April 28 amid the global shortage and higher prices of edible oils.

The move was to control the high price of cooking oil for local consumers.

It lifted the restriction effective May 23.

Meanwhile, Mohd Nazrul said the company still managed to conduct business at full capacity despite having a 30% shortage of foreign labor or about 10,000 workers.

“We have formulated a few ways to work but hopefully with the arrival of foreign workers soon, FGV will be able to further increase palm oil production,” he said.

He added that the company is working on the company's roadmap to lead the country’s food security agenda.

“One of the biggest initiatives we are doing is with the Qatar-based company Baladna Dairy Facility. Signed in 2019, the collaboration will develop a large-scale dairy project in Chuping Valley, Perlis.

Source: www.theedgemarkets.com