Reyes inaugurates P20-B palm oil mill

ENVIRONMENT Secretary Angelo Reyes yesterday inaugurated the P20-billion processing plant of the Philippine Agriculture Land Development and Mill, Inc. (PALM, Inc.) in Barangay Matin-ao, Carmen town. Reyes was all praises for the state-of-the-art mill that can process 30 tons of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) of the oil palm per hour but produces zero effluents.

The secretary, Gov. Erico Aumentado and Regional Executive Director Ricardo Oblena of the Department of Agriculture (DA) representing Secretary Arthur Yap led guests in inaugurating the mill. Chair Lim Chan Lok, President Joven Uy, Managing Director Chee Kong Chang and member of the board Robert Siy Chin led PALM, Inc. personalities at the inauguration. Owned 60 percent by Filipinos and 40 percent by Malaysians, the mill has been selling crude palm oil to Cebu and Manila for refining into edible and industrial oil.

Lim said PALM, Inc. will refine the oil when the production of FFBs matches the mill capacity, hence the campaign among land owners and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to open barren and idle timberlands to interested outgrowers under its reforestation program. For his part, a visibly elated Aumentado congratulated PALM, Inc. for being the first major investor to inaugurate a processing plant this year.

“I have seen the vision of the leaders of the industry, and I agree with them that let us not stop at producing oil for cooking but for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and even bio-fuel as well,” he said. The mill opens new areas of development in the province and even the country, said Aumentado, who committed to give his unflinching support to the budding local industry.

In his message for publication in PALM, Inc.'s souvenir program, the governor however emphasized that he will support the expansion of the area planted to oil palm but not at the expense of other agricultural products, especially rice, corn, cassava and other high value cash crops. Oil palm should expand only to erstwhile barren and idle private lands or timberland. He even wrote Reyes earlier, suggesting that oil palm, on top of forest and fruit trees, be tapped for the department's reforestation program in Bohol.

Meanwhile, echoing the governor's favorite line, Uy said the palm oil industry is one key to lick poverty. On the other hand, Oblena said DA has always supported the industry such that when PALM, Inc. had looked for an area to establish its nursery, it offered the Ubay Stock Farm. Aside from edible oil, palm oil is also an ingredient of cookies, cakes, pastries, ice cream and others. It is also used as steel lubricant for rolling mills.

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