CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT Dear Shareholder, In 2023, Boustead Plantations Berhad (BPlant or the Company and its subsidiaries collectively referred to as the Group), navigated a series of challenges within the oil palm industry. These included lower demand from certain markets, uncertainties of vegetable oil prices further impacted by geopolitical disruptions, unfavourable global weather patterns, and supply disruptions due to labour shortage. Despite these obstacles, the Group managed to deliver moderate earnings, supported by favourable oil extraction rates and yields. Consistent with our strategic response to these challenges, we recognised the urgent need to bolster operational resilience and seize opportunities that enhance our long-term position as a prominent producer of palm oil. Consequently, a pivotal decision was made to privatise BPlant, leading to its delisting from Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad on 23 January 2024. BPlant is currently a subsidiary of Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera. Stepping into the role of Chairman at BPlant is a great honour and a deep responsibility to undertake. On this note, I am pleased to pen my inaugural statement and present the Group’s Integrated Report for the financial year ended 31 December 2023. The content of the Integrated Report reflects advancements in global reporting standards and the Integrated Reporting Framework. OUR OPERATING LANDSCAPE In the aftermath of robust economic recovery in 2022, the global gross domestic growth (GDP) is expected to shift from 3.5% to 3.0% in 2023 according to the International Monetary Fund. Malaysia’s economy remained resilient with a GDP of 3.7% last year, slightly lower than the projected 4.0%. An integral pillar of the country’s economic development, palm oil’s supply and demand dynamics continued to seek balance after the record-breaking prices of 2022. The financial year 2023 witnessed a normalisation of crude palm oil (CPO) prices, with a notable decline throughout the year. The industry also contended with a reduction in planted area, partly due to ongoing replanting activities, while persistent labour shortages continued to pose challenges. Ongoing Government initiatives, however, resulted in some improvement in labour supply during the year, which was a contributing factor to the national production of CPO rising marginally to 18.6 million metric tonne (MT) from 18.5 million MT in 2022. Additionally, there was an upward trend in the national yield of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) and the national oil extraction rate (OER), increasing to 15.8 MT per hectare (ha) and 19.9% compared with 15.5 MT per ha and 19.7% in 2022, respectively. On the downside, palm oil export was affected by lower demand from major markets, dipping to 15.1 million MT last year from 15.7 million MT in 2022. India maintained its lead as Malaysia’s largest export market, followed by China, the European Union and four other key markets that comprised 54% of the country’s total palm oil exports in 2023. Lieutenant General Datuk Ahmad Norihan Jalal (R) Chairman Boustead Plantations Berhad 026
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