Univanich Palm Oil PCL awarded ISO 9001 : 2000 for seed production

In announcing the ISO Certification the Company’s Managing Director, John Clendon, commented that this was further recognition that Univanich has become a world class producer of high yielding oil palm seeds. He noted that the breeding programme had been a long term investment since the first pedigree palms were imported by the Company more than 30 years ago. During the 1980s more selected parent palms were imported in an exchange with Unilever’s Plantations Group and other international breeding programmes.

Previously, local oil palm growers have had to import their hybrid seeds. But according to John Clendon, oil palms bred in other countries will not always be high yielding in Thailand’s drier climate. “Only years of local selection trials over several generations of palms can give that assurance”, he said.

The Univanich Research Department in Krabi Province has 1,453 rai planted in research trials and this area is increasing each year as new generations of hybrid palms are planted for yield testing. Sixty nine people are currently employed on this programme.