GOVERNMENT TO INVESTIGATE EAST NEW BRITAIN PALM OIL LIMITED
MINISTER for International Trade and Investment Richard Maru announced that the National Government will be investigating the East New Britain Palm Oil Limited.
This is following numerous complains from the oil palm farmers that they had to stopped selling palm oil to this Malaysian company for over nine weeks now because they have been consistently paid K16 for a ton of palm oil in the last ten years.
They claim that the company has been robbing them when they compare the price, they have been getting to what the farmers in West New Britain are getting up to about K500 per metric ton when prices are very high in the global market as is the case today.
Mr. Maru stated: “I am not happy with this oil palm company. When the farmers do not sell the oil palm the country will not generate exports.
"In the last ten years the average global price for palm oil stood at USD886 per metric ton and New Britain Palm Oil report in 2022 confirmed that the farm gate price of palm oil was over K800 per ton.
"Whilst there have been changes in palm oil price in the world market leading to changes in the the farm gate prices, the East New Britain Palm Oil Limited have been paying the farmers in the Gazelle Peninsular only K16 per ton for the last ten years and totally ripping off our people. This is a very serious matter.
"This company needs to be investigated. We cannot have foreign companies behaving like this as our people claim.
"They could have been robbing them of millions of kina. While this is what the farmers are claiming, the National Government has to do an investigation to hear both sides and look at how we can resolve this problem in the long term.
"I am also getting similar complaints from other farmers and landowners from other oil palm project areas around the country so we will not hesitate to extend the investigation to other areas.
"The complains from the Kokopo and Gazelle farmers may be just the tip of the iceberg on the rot in the industry when it comes to landowner benefits from the development on their land and their sweat and labor.
"The Government will have to act so we can get a far better package to encourage our people to free up land for oil palm development.”
Mr. Maru said the Marape-Rosso Government will not take these complains from the oil palm farmers lightly and assured them that the Government will act immediately.
“I will be working very closely with the Minister for Oil Palm to finalize the terms of reference for the investigation of this company.
"The investigation team will include a lawyer and a chartered accountant and a global recognized oil palm industry expert who will investigate this company, including the issue of ownership, the different packages they have in place for large-scale palm oil estates, and the land titles as we understand that this company owns none of the land that it is operating on.
"We are told all the land are owned by the landowners and our people in the province. The team will also compare the benefits to other palm oil growing provinces in the country. These will be part of the investigation,” said Maru.
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