Minister Of Agriculture Amran Says Russia Is Ready To Increase Indonesia's CPO Imports To Expand Global Market

Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Andi Amran Sulaiman said that Russia is showing a strong interest in increasing imports of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) from Indonesia on a large scale as part of strategic cooperation.

Amran emphasized that the Indonesian government is actively pushing for an increase in the volume of CPO exports to Russia in order to expand the global market and strengthen Indonesia's position as the world's main palm oil producer.

"For Russia to be interesting, we ask our CPO exports to increase from Indonesia to Russia," Amran said as quoted by ANTARA, Sunday, June 22.

He conveyed the seriousness of the cooperation as seen from the special invitation received by the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia from the Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Oksana Nikolaevna Lut which is scheduled to discuss concrete partnerships at a bilateral meeting in October 2025.

Indonesia hopes that this collaboration can open new market access for oil palm farmers and increase country foreign exchange, as well as strengthen diplomatic relations and trade between the two countries in the agricultural sector.

"We received a special invitation from the Russian Minister of Agriculture in October. We will cooperate," said the Minister of Agriculture.

However, the Minister of Agriculture did not mention the volume of exports in detail, but he ensured that this cooperation would have a positive impact on the national palm oil industry and the welfare of Indonesian farmers.

Previously, Indonesian Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman together with the Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Oksana Nikolaevna Lut discussed investing in sugar and CPO exports at a bilateral meeting in St Petersburg, Russia on Thursday 19 June.

In the agenda of the talks, the two ministers discussed a number of strategic matters.

First, increasing investment in the sugar sector through the Indonesia-Russia partnership, second, increasing Indonesia's CPO export volume to the Russian market, and thirdly the plan to develop the joint fertilizer industry as part of the food security cooperation.

Keempat, pembukaan akses untuk impor daging dari Rusia ke Indonesia, serta kelima penguatan kerja sama teknis dan riset pertanian berbasis teknologi.

Pertemuan tersebut turut disaksikan langsung Presiden Federasi Rusia Vladimir Putin dan Presiden RI Prabowo Subianto.

Hal itu memperkuat pesan bahwa kerja sama di sektor pertanian menjadi salah satu pilar penting dalam hubungan bilateral kedua negara.

Fourth, the opening of access to meat imports from Russia to Indonesia, as well as the fifth strengthening of technical cooperation and technology-based agricultural research.

The meeting was also witnessed by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and the President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto.

This strengthens the message that cooperation in the agricultural sector is one of the important pillars in bilateral relations between the two countries.