Oil palm bill consultations reach MBP

The Consultations on the Oil Palm Industry Authority Bill 2025 (paired with the Oil Palm Industry Management Bill) landed in Alotau last week.

Minister for Oil Palm Francis Maneke was there in person to push the proposed Bill and to listen to industry player feedback out of Milne Bay.

Accompanied by Alotau Open MP, Minister Maneke cut to the chase.

He says oil palm remains the only commodity without regulation and it was time.

Milne Bays smallholder farmers welcomed the bill, urging Maneke and his OPIC technical working team to get a move on it terms of endorsement and implementation.

The Oil Palm Bill is a proposed legislation aimed at strengthening regulation and supporting smallholder growers.

It seeks to transform the current Oil Palm Industry Corporation [OPIC] into a statutory authority to improve oversight, fair pricing, and infrastructure development, to go before Parliament after these consultations this year.

PNG’s oil palm sector is said to be lagging behind Malaysia and Indonesia, and these reforms are designed to facilitate production increase and in order to raise the industry value.