MP Evans commissions sixth palm oil mill

16th Feb 2023 15:31

(Sharecast News) - Palm oil producer MP Evans announced on Thursday that its sixth palm oil mill has been commissioned at the Musi Rawas estate in South Sumatra.

The AIM-traded firm said the 60-tonne-per-hour facility was now processing all the fresh fruit bunches from its own areas, and those of its associated scheme smallholders.

It said it expected to be able to increase oil extraction rates by using the new mill, rather than sending crops to third-party mills.

"The group will work towards receiving certification from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) for the new mill as soon as possible," the board said in its statement.

"This will help to further increase the group's total percentage of certified sustainable production."

MP Evans said group and associated scheme-smallholder crops were continuing to increase significantly at Musi Rawas as the young areas matured, adding that planting was continuing in 2023 as it progressed towards its initial target of 10,000 planted hectares of group and associated scheme-smallholder oil palm.

"In addition, the group will look for profitable opportunities to source fresh fruit bunches from independent suppliers close to Musi Rawas to utilise spare capacity at its new mill, in the same way that it has successfully purchased independent crops at its existing mills."

At 1458 GMT, shares in MP Evans Group were flat at 822p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.