Indonesia, Malaysia To Replant 325,000 Ha of Oil Palms, Cut Production

Avatar for Matt Hopkins By Andrea Klosterman Harris|9 December 2008

About 50,000 Ha of oil palms – which are productive for between 25 and 30 years— will be replanted in Indonesia next year, with the rest to be planted in 2010, announced Achmad Manggabarani, director general of plantations at the Ministry of Agriculture. This will be the first replanting in almost three decades for small-holders, said Manggabarani, adding that companies tend to replant 5% of their plantations annually. He said that Indonesia needs a total of around 1 million Ha of oil palm plantations to be replanted, which he hopes big companies will do within five years. Malaysia plans to replant 200,000 Ha next year. Production will be reduced by 700,000 tons, as replanting cuts output because it takes years for new trees to bear fruit.