Indonesian palm oil producer MP Evans has opened its sixth palm oil mill on the company’s Musi Rawas estate in South Sumatra.
All fresh fruit bunches (FFB) from the group’s own areas and those of its associated scheme smallholders were now being processed at the 60-tonne/hour facility, MP Evans said on 16 February.
The group, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, said it expected to increase oil extraction rates by using the new mill rather than sending crops to third-party mills.
MP Evans said it was working towards certification from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) for the new mill as soon as possible, which would help to increase the group’s total percentage of certified sustainable production.
“Group and associated scheme-smallholder crops are continuing to increase significantly at Musi Rawas as the young areas mature, and planting is continuing in 2023 as the group progresses towards its initial target of 10,000 planted hectares of MP Evans and associated scheme-smallholder oil palm,” the company said in a statement.
In addition, the group said it would look for opportunities to source FFB from independent suppliers close to Musi Rawas to use spare capacity at its new mill, in the same way that it had purchased independent crops at its existing mills.
On 6 March, MP Evans also announced that it had acquired two Indonesian companies - PT Teunggulon Raya and PT Dharma Agung - which between them own 2,100ha planted with oil palm close to the group's Simpang Kiri estate in Aceh Province, Northern Sumatra.
Total costs associated with the acquisition, including the assumption of liabilities within the companies acquired, are estimated at US$14.3M.
“Following the acquisition, the group will have an expanded planted area of 4,800ha at or around the Simpang Kiri estate and the potential to build its own palm oil mill there. If one is developed, the group would reach a position of processing 100% of its own crop, as well as further increasing its sustainable palm oil production,” MP Evans said.
MP Evans owns palm oil plantations in Indonesia and also has an investment in a property company in Malaysia.
The group’s plantations are spread across five Indonesian provinces: North Sumatra, South Sumatra, Aceh, Bangka-Belitung and East Kalimantan, according to the MP Evans website. Its oldest plantations are in North Sumatra and Aceh with newer projects developed in East Kalimantan, Bangka-Belitung and South Sumatra since 2005.
