PETALING JAYA: Putrajaya will help smallholders by providing them RM550 million in easy loans, Lim Guan Eng said today.
In a statement today, the finance minister said the government will provide RM500 million in loans for recultivation of oil palm, with a low-interest rate of 2% per annum.
Another RM50 million, also to be offered the 2% interest rate, is to purchase high-quality seedlings.
The government will also provide an additional RM100 million in assistance to palm oil entrepreneurs to obtain the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification.
This certification is needed for palm oil to enter world markets.
Lim said RM30 million was allocated in Budget 2019 for this purpose and the cost would be fully borne by the government. This scheme is limited to medium-sized palm plantations (40-1000ha in size).
Lim, who is also DAP secretary-general, said such aid is being given as the government cares for those involved in oil palm production, who had been greatly affected by low palm oil prices.
Lim said the finance ministry welcomes the memorandum of understanding signed on April 25 for China to buy an additional 1.9 million tones of Malaysian palm oil at a cost of RM4.56 billion for five years (2019-2023).
This is expected to create more demand for palm oil in the world market. - FMT
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