Siam Palm Estate Replant Replanting of our older palm stands continued as programmed. It is essential to replant the older stands of oil palm and maximise our productivity. Replanting allows for the newer improved planting material to reach potential and also reduces harvesting costs that are associated with the older taller palms, where yield is declining. A young age profile is essential to improving productivity and maximizing yield. In 2023 we completed the terraced area of Siam Palm Estate. Best management practices were essential in this sloping area to ensure that cover crop was reestablished to prevent erosion. Empty fruit bunches were also used extensively to protect the terraces from erosion, restore organic matter back to the soils, and mulch the young palm to retain moisture and prevent weed growth.

Tank Farm Expansion Project With increasing export volumes over recent years, in 2023 we have increased our storage at our export facility in Krabi. An additional 3,000 MT capacity has been added. This allows us to prepare shipments in good time and reduce the congestion of tankers at time of shipment. This also significantly reduces the impact of through traffic for our local communities living close by to our facility.  A total storage capacity at the tank farm is now 12,000 MT.

Replacement Gas Engine for Topi This is the first of three replacement gas engines at Topi, which were installed in 2009. After 15 years of service the gas engines are scheduled for replacement. The replacement engine is of larger capacity to enable us to improve efficiency of our operation.

Second Weighbridge at CVP Factory Due to increased processing volumes, our single weighbridge at CVP factory has become congested. The installation of a second weighbridge has reduced weighting time for FFB and oil to be transported in and out of the factory. It also provides for a useful back up for times of maintenance and repair.

Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (CEMS) Installation In June 2022 the Industrial Works Department introduced a new regulation for all Biomass Boilers of greater than 30 MT capacity. All such boilers must be installed with a continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS) and the target date for installation is by December 2027.This system monitors the levels of dust, nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide that is emitted into the atmosphere from the boiler flue. In 2023, Univanich completed the installation at all 3 factories that have a 30 MT boiler.

Pabon Factory Expansion The expansion of Pabon factory from a 45 MT per hour capacity to 60 MT per hour capacity is in progress and completion is expected by June 2024. Over the past 5 years the FFB production in this area has been steadily increasing. New plantings continue and we expect production will continue to grow in this area.

CVP Dust collecting Bag Filter Unit As part of our initiative to reduce our smoke emissions from our factories, we have completed our first dust collecting bag filter unit at CVP factory. The bag filter is able to remove suspended dust particles from the smoke emissions. Since commissioning in October 2023, it has proven to be very effective in reduction of smoke emissions, and we have been able to reduce the dust particles from over 200 PPM to below 100 PPM, which is significantly below the newly proposed regulations. Our local stakeholders are also very supportive of this initiative. We will be continuing to extend such projects to our other factories over the next consecutive years.