Sabah to introduce policy to regulate oil palm biomass

21 June 2023

By Wartawan Nabalu News

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is set to introduce its own policy to regulate the state's oil palm biomass, which has immense potential for downstream industries.

The state government has agreed to establish the Biomass Policy and use POIC Lahad Datu as the platform to implement it.

This was announced by Sabah Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Phoong Jin Zhe at the inaugural Malaysia Palm Oil Expo (MAPEX) in Sandakan on Tuesday.

He said the policy was important for the long-term development and sustainable growth of Sabah's biomass industry.

"The creation of this policy is important for the long-term development of Sabah's biomass industry while also contributing towards a sustainable socio-economic growth of Sabah, especially in terms of income generation, increased investment value and the creation of decent job opportunities," he said.

Phoong said Sabah generated up to 45 million tonnes of oil palm biomass in 2021, which included empty palm bunches, mesocarp fibre, palm oil kernels, palm oil effluent, palm oil stems and palm fronds.

These could be processed into products such as bio-pallet, bio-ethanol, bio-palm gas, bio-based chemicals, composite wood and furniture.

He also called on the major oil palm industry players to look into developing the downstream of the oil palm industry in Sabah, adding that the state government was ready to roll out policies and incentives to create a friendly environment for the industry.