He said the government was frustrated by the smear campaigns launched by the European Union (EU) and the United States on the palm oil industry. In mitigating the farmers’ struggles, Lim said the government would provide RM550 million in soft loans for oil palm smallholders with a interest rate of two per cent. The 12-year government loan allows oil palm smallholders to only begin repaying after the fourth year. MPOB had previously estimated this move would require an additional 500,000 tonnes of palm oil per year. Some 600,000 rubber smallholders account for about 90 per cent of the natural rubber produced in Malaysia.

Source: New Strait Times October 11, 2019 10:41 UTC