SDP group managing director Mohamad Helmy Othman
PETALING JAYA: Sime Darby Plantation Bhd
’s (SDP) palm oil will now be permitted into the United States after the United States Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) modified its forced labour finding against the plantation company.
In a statement, SDP said the USCBP will now permit the importation of palm oil from SDP into the US.
With this decision, the USCBP has recognised the comprehensive process undertaken by SDP in the last two years to review, revise and – where necessary – upgrade its protocols for recruiting, managing and working with its workers.
“This exercise has been hugely valuable in establishing a market-leading approach to ensure our employees feel safe, satisfied, supported and fairly treated,” group managing director Mohamad Helmy Othman Basha said.
“It took us more than 500,000 man- hours to undertake our reviews and to revise what we already had in place. To ensure change is embraced and entrenched, we also put in place key enablers to empower our workers. It is essential that such safeguards are in place to protect those who are vulnerable, he added.
