KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7 — At least 50 per cent of the crude palm oil (CPO) windfall tax will be channelled to the biofuel stabilisation fund, which is expected to be set up within the first quarter of this year, says Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok.

"The Finance Ministry has given us the green light that at least half of the windfall levy will be used for the biodiesel stabilisation fund, and we are still working with them on the details,” she told reporters on the sidelines of the ‘We Love Palm Oil’ forum here today.

Earlier in the forum, she said the government aimed for 70 per cent of the nation’s oil palm cultivation areas to be Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO)-certified by March this year.

"As of Jan 6, about 62.4 per cent or 3.65 million hectares (ha) out of 5.85 million ha of oil palm plantations in Malaysia are MSPO-certified, including 341 of 452 mills in the country,” she added. — Bernama