Oil palm smallholders need help now
There is talk of increasing palm oil sales in China in the future. But at the moment, Malaysia’s oil palm smallholders are struggling with a glut and falling prices.
EDWARD Chai owns about 2.5ha of oil palm and earned RM839.55 at the end of last month.
While sales added up to RM966.15 for his 3.39 tonnes of fruits at RM285 a tonne according to a copy of a sales receipt he shows us, Chai says he had to deduct RM135.60 for engaging a worker to harvest the crop, paying RM40 per tonne. He transported the fruit bunches to the factory himself to save on the RM118.65 transport charge at RM35 per tonne.
On Thursday, the price of oil palm dropped to RM280 per tonne, which means Chai’s income would be RM813.60 compared with the RM839.55 he made last month. Harvesting is usually done three times every two months.
...
The content is a snapshot from Publisher. Refer to the original content for accurate info. Contact us for any changes.
Comments
