JAKARTA - The Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDP) together with the Indonesian Association of People's Core Palm Oil Farmers (ASPEKPIR) released the first export of palm sticks in a ceremony held at the PT Arra Setya Abadi warehouse in Belawan, Medan, North Sumatra, Wednesday, June 17.
A total of 28 tons of palm fiber originating from oil palm plantations in Riau Province, North Sumatra and Aceh will be shipped to China. The palm fiber products are collected and processed by oil palm farmers and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Cooperative members of ASPEKPIR from a series of activities of the MSMEs and Cooperative empowerment program that has been held by ASPEKPIR and BPDP. ASPEKPIR collaborates with PT Arra Setya Abadi as an exporter that will market palm fiber products to the international market.
Present at the event were the General Chair of ASPEKPIR Setiyono, Analyst of the Community Cooperation and UMKM Division of BPDP Anwar Sadat, President Director of PT Arra Setya Abadi Ilham Setiadi, Head of the North Sumatra Agriculture and Food Security Service represented by Tsarwah, representative of the Quarantine Agency, General Secretary of ASPEKPIR Syarifuddin Sirait, representatives of a number of universities in North Sumatra, as well as farmers and craftsmen of palm fiber.
The Director of Law and Cooperation of BPDP in his written statement read by Anwar Sadat said that BPDP has long been carrying out promotional activities regarding the potential for economic added value from palm oil by-products and waste, including palm sticks. Intensive cooperation with ASPEKPIR has been carried out through various workshop activities and dissemination since 2024 to the present.
A series of palm fiber production workshops have been held in various regions, including Siak Regency, Kampar, Bengkalis, Muaro Jambi, East Belitung, to Pasang Kayu Regency, West Sulawesi. These efforts are being carried out to introduce the potential of palm fiber and the availability of raw material supplies as well as to increase the capacity of farmers so that product quality is in line with export market standards.
According to the Director of Legal and Cooperation of BPDP, palm fiber has great potential to be developed into various products with economic value, ranging from export raw materials to various handicrafts that can be worked on by UMKM actors in the region.
"BPDP strongly supports and appreciates this activity because it is able to provide direct economic benefits to the community and shows that palm waste can be processed into products with high selling value," he explained.
The Director of Law and Cooperation of BPDP explained that BPDP currently has various strategic programs to support the strengthening of capacity and productivity of oil palm farmers, including through the People's Oil Palm Revitalization (PSR) program, the Facility and Infrastructure Program, Plantation Human Resources Development, Research and Development, and the Plantation Promotion program which aims to introduce the benefits of plantation commodities to the community from the aspects of economy, society, and environment.
The success of the first export of palm fiber shows that palm oil is an inclusive commodity because its benefits can be felt by all levels of society, from farmers, women, youth, MSMEs, cooperatives to exporters.
"The supply chain of palm fiber production involves many parties, from farmers, craftsmen, cooperatives, and exporters, so that it can provide a double effect for the absorption of labor and economic growth in the region," he said.
According to the Director of Legal and Cooperation of BPDP, this activity is also in line with the national development vision as stated in the Presidential Vision of Prabowo Subianto, especially in efforts to strengthen national economic independence through green economy, expanding quality employment opportunities with entrepreneurship, and equitable development to villages.
Meanwhile, ASPEKPIR Chairman Setiyono emphasized that the first export release was a follow-up to various empowerment programs for MSMEs that had been carried out by ASPEKPIR together with BPDP in a number of areas in Riau and North Sumatra.
According to Setiyono, at least seven ASPEKPIR member cooperatives are involved in the provision of raw materials for palm fiber that are exported to China. The benefits will then be felt by approximately 2,800 members of the cooperatives. The involvement of the cooperatives shows that the development of waste-based palm business can become a new source of income for farmers.
"This first export proves that palm fiber, which has not been used, has a high economic value. We hope that more and more oil palm farmers are interested in collecting and processing palm fiber as an additional source of income," said Setiyono.
President Director of PT Arra Setya Abadi Ilham Setiadi explained that since the end of 2024, his party together with ASPEKPIR and supported by BPDP continues to carry out socialization and assistance for the development of export business of palm fiber in various regions.
According to Ilham, the international market demand for palm fiber continues to show a positive trend so that the opportunities for business development are still very wide open for farmers and MSMEs in various oil palm plantation centers. On the same occasion, the Head of the North Sumatra Agriculture and Food Security Agency, represented by Tsarwah, expressed his appreciation for the success of the first export.
He hopes that similar activities can be an inspiration for other business actors to utilize the potential of agricultural and plantation waste that has economic value.
"North Sumatra has great potential to develop various derivative products based on palm oil waste, including palm sticks. Cooperation and collaboration between the government, business world, farmer organizations, and the community are the main keys to achieving export success like this," he said.
The development of palm fiber products is proof that the palm oil sector is able to support the principles of circular economy and sustainable development. The utilization of palm fronds and biomass as raw materials for UMKM products helps reduce waste while creating new economic value for the community around the plantation.
This palm fiber product can also expand the export market of plantations through the diversification of palm oil derivative products. In addition to the first release of palm fiber exports, BPDP and ASPEKPIR also held a workshop on the practice of exporting palm fiber in Langkat, North Sumatra on Thursday, June 18. In this workshop attended by 100 participants, a memorandum of understanding was signed between palm oil cooperatives and exporters on increasing the production of export-ready palm fiber.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
