The Malaysian government has announced a timeline proposal with regard to the compliance of the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification in stages.
According to the announcement made February 24, the timeline for oil palm plantation entities that are already certified against the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) standards will need to be certified against the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) standard by December 31, 2018. For oil palm entities without RSPO certification, the timeline to be MSPO certified is by June 30, 2019.
Meanwhile, the timeline for independent and organized smallholders to be fully certified under the MSPO certification scheme is by December 31, 2019. The government will be making available financial incentives to support the industry with the MSPO certification compliance processes.
The aim of the set timeline is to expedite the implementation and in doing so to elevate the industry to the next level of branding Malaysian palm oil set against the MSPO sustainability standards.
The MSPO certification scheme was launched in January 2015 on a voluntary basis. The scheme is implemented by the Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC), an independent non-profit organization set up in October 2015 to develop and operate the MSPO Certification Scheme.
Since then, the MSPO certification has been on a voluntary basis. As of January 2017, the total planted area certified under MSPO is 221 575 ha covering the three regions of Malaysia i.e. Peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak.
