14 Jun 2006

Solomons banks on palm oil industry

2:02 pm on 14 June 2006

The Solomon Islands government wants to develop its own palm oil industry.

The government is moving to develop and assist provinces and landowners to acquire shares in such projects.

The Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation reports palm oil was one of the main agricultural sources of revenue and employment for Solomon Islands before the ethnic tensions.

The country currently has three major palm oil sites including the existing Guadalcanal Plains Palm Oil, Vangunu in Western Province and the proposed Auluta Basin Palm Oil on Malaita.

The Guadalcanal Plains Palm Oil formerly run by the Commonwealth Development Company was taken over by a PNG-based Malaysian company at the end of 2004.