Mongin: Ministry to probe claim of Sarawak buying Kalimantan FFB

KUCHING: The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities will investigate an allegation that oil palm fresh fruit bunches (FFB) from Kalimantan, Indonesia are being sold in Sarawak.

Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk Willie Mongin said stern action would be taken if this really happened as his ministry had not issued any licence to import FFB from other countries so far.

Mongin, who is also Puncak Borneo member of parliament, was commenting on a video clip, which has gone viral on social media, purportedly showing Indonesian farmers selling FFB to buyers in Sarawak.

"We cannot compromise in this matter because it can disrupt the (income) of oil palm growers in our state," he said in a press conference at his service centre at Senaruh Hill, Puncak Borneo Road near here today.

He said if there were cases like this happening in Sarawak, it must be reported to the ministry through the Malaysian Palm Oil Board for follow-up action.

Touching on the plummeting price of the commodity, Mongin urged oil palm farmers in the state not to replace it with other commodity crops.

He said the situation was temporary with the price of FFB expected to be not less than RM500 per tonne and asked oil palm farmers to be patient and wait for positive changes in the price of the commodity.

He explained that Indonesia's decision to export more palm oil, which caused increased dumping of the commodity in the international market, apart from the situation of buyers who have not yet used up the old stock, was one of the factors affecting palm oil prices.

"(The expectation of when the price of palm oil will rise again) I can't say, but I hope it recovers soon," he said.

-- BERNAMA