JAKARTA: PT Eagle High Plantations Tbk (EHP) expects its fresh fruit bunch (FFB) production in the fourth quarter of this year to rise by 12 per cent compared to the same period last year.
The assessment was based on the relatively young age of most of their oil palm trees and the softening impact of El Nino this year, said the company in a statement.
EHP’s FFB production in the first half of this year was 555,882 tonnes. The full-year figures for last year and 2014 were 1.418 million tonnes and 1.395 million tonnes, respectively.
“The rise in the FFB production is expected as most of the company’s oil palm trees are still at a relatively young age. Moreover, it is likely that the El Nino impact will subside this period,” said PT EHP company secretary Deddy Setiadi, here.
Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) announced yesterday that it had signed a deal with Rajawali Group to acquire a significant stake in the latter’s EHP, one of Indonesia’s largest palm oil firms.
Under the agreement, Felda subsidiary, FIC Properties Sdn Bhd (FICP), will acquire a 37 per cent stake in the Jakarta-listed EHP for US$505.4 million (RM2.26 billion).
In the statement, Deddy said EHP had started the operation of one palm oil mill with a capacity of 45 tonnes per hour last month. It is located in Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan, as majority of the oil palm trees in the firm’s several estates in Ketapang is ready to harvest.
“The company has been able to maintain the consistency of their crude palm oil’s oil extraction rate at over 23.5 per cent,” he added.
Additionally, the company has implemented sustainable management of their oil palm estates as required by the government through the ISPO (Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil) certification.