Coordinating Minister Airlangga Prepares Roadmap For Palm Oil Downstream

Coordinating Minister Airlangga Hartarto (Special)

JAKARTA - The government has a vision so that the Indonesian palm oil industry can become the largest palm oil producer as well as encourage downstream or the development of its derivative products.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto in a webinar themed "The Urgency of People's Palm Oil Rejuvenation (PSR) to Promote National Economic Recovery" Friday said the downstream roadmap had been prepared.

"These include increasing productivity, supporting downstream activities such as ole food, oleochemicals, and biofuels, creating ecosystems, governance, capacity building and technology development for the development of the oil palm business", said Coordinating Minister Airlangga as quoted from the official website ekon.go.id, Sunday.

"This is done so that we can become a price maker or price center for global CPO", he continued

With a land area of 10 percent of the total global land bank for vegetable oil, Indonesia can become the largest palm oil-producing country and controls 55 percent of the world's palm oil or vegetable oil market share.

In addition, it is also capable of producing 40 percent of the world's total vegetable oil, which plays an important role in the context of world food security.

The national oil palm cover area coordinated by the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs in 2019 was identified as 16.38 million hectares with details, People's Oil Palm Plantations at 41 percent, State Large Plantations at 6 percent, and National Private Large Plantations at 53 percent.

"These data show that people's palm oil plantations have a significant contribution to the development of the oil palm plantation industry in Indonesia", said Coordinating Minister Airlangga.

Furthermore, Coordinating Minister Airlangga also emphasized that the People's Palm Oil Replanting Program (PSR) is crucial as an effort to increase productivity and strengthen human resources, as well as improve farmers' welfare.

The PSR program also contributed during the COVID-19 pandemic by absorbing labor and creating a positive multiplier effect in the regions.

The government also continues to commit to replanting with a target of 540,000 hectares spread across various regions in Indonesia.

"For land whose productivity is less than 4 tons, it can be increased by replanting programs and superior seeds based on Good Agriculture Practices", said Coordinating Minister Airlangga.