Forty years later Hargy is second-largest employer in agri-sector

By LUKE KAMA
Hargy Oil Palms Ltd, the second-largest private sector employer in the agriculture sector after New Britain Palm Oil Ltd, celebrates 40 years of production in Papua New Guinea this year.
The company commemorated its 40th year of production yesterday in Port Moresby with the release of a book that features stories of hope, hardship and success. Chairman of Hargy Palm Oil Ltd François Van Hoydonck said parent company Société Internationale de Plantations et de Finance (SIPEF), which has its head office in Belgium, was pleased to see its investment flourishing.
“We started here with a small venture of about 600 hectares of oil palm and no palm oil mill back then in 1978,” he said.
“After 40 years, we have developed into something like 30,600 hectares of palm oil and three mills producing around 160,000 tonnes of segregated certified sustainable palm and palm kernel oil at a sustainable manner.
“This is all exported to Europe and millions of people throughout the world are benefitting from the end products derived from the oil produced in PNG.”
Hoydonck said the company provided direct employment to 4500 people, most of whom are Papua New Guineans, with another 3700 smallholder families benefitting from the company’s knowledge, processing and access to markets created.
“The 3700-plus smallholder families account for 42 per cent of our total production,” he said.
“In total, more than 60,000 people are dependent on oil palm within the area we operate.”