Sabah Remains As Second Largest CPO Producer In 2025 - Noraini
KOTA KINABALU, Sept 24 (Bernama) -- Sabah remained Malaysia’s second-largest producer of crude palm oil (CPO) last year, accounting for nearly 24 per cent of the country’s total production.
Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad said this reflects Sabah’s significance to the palm oil industry.
Noraini, officiating at the opening ceremony of the 2026 National Oil Palm Shareholders Conference here today, said the industry is a major source of income for thousands of smallholders in the state.
Noraini said smallholders play a significant role in the palm oil industry value chain because they cultivate more than 15 per cent of Malaysia’s total oil palm planted area.
“The government understands that the lives of smallholders are not always easy. They face ageing trees, operating costs, labour shortages, climate change and increasingly complex market demands.
“For this reason, assistance for replanting, training, technology, digitalisation and market access continues to be strengthened,” she said.
Therefore, Noraini said replanting assistance, training, technology, digitalisation and market access continued to be strengthened through the National Agricommodity Policy 2021–2030, to improve sustainability, productivity and palm oil production value.
The conference, held every two years on a rotational basis, is a platform to share technology, information on facilities offered by the Plantation and Commodities Ministry and the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB). It also offers an avenue for industry players to share their experiences.
Noraini also said 30,384 smallholders, with a planted area of more than 188,000 hectares in Sabah, have the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification.
The figure represents 97.17 per cent of the total oil palm planted area owned by independent smallholders in Sabah.
State Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Minister Datuk Jamawi Jaafar was also present at the event.
-- BERNAMA