Palm Farmers Organization Appreciates Jokowi's Steps To Open CPO Export Faucet

A number of trucks transporting Palm Fresh Fruit Signs (FFB) queue for unloading at one of the palm oil mills owned by PT. Karya Tanah Subur (KTS) Padang Sikabu Village, Kaway XVI, Aceh Barat, Aceh. (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - All organizations of oil palm farmers appreciate and thank President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) for the reopening of CPO exports which will take effect on Monday 23 May.

The general chairman of Apkasindo Perjuangan Alpian Arahman said that the reopening of CPO exports would normalize the palm oil trade system of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) for oil palm farmers throughout Indonesia, which had experienced problems.

"Both in terms of the price which fell drastically below the average of Rp. 2,000 per kilogram and also restrictions on the purchase of FFB by several companies in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi," said Alpian, quoted from Antara, Friday, May 20.

Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Indonesian Jaya Palm Oil Farmers Forum (Popsi) Pahala Sibuea supports President Joko Widodo's steps to revamp regulations at the BPDPKS institution.

"Because we also see that BPDPKS is one of the keys to improvements in palm oil governance in Indonesia. For example in the future BPDPKS must focus on supporting oil palm farmer institutions throughout Indonesia," he said.

Pahala Sibuea also mentioned that so far BPDPKS has been mostly used for the benefit of biodiesel conglomerates.

This, continued Pahala, can be seen from the Rp137.283 trillion BPDPKS funds collected from 2015 to 2021 of around 80.16 percent only for biodiesel subsidies.

Meanwhile, for oil palm farmers only 4.8 percent through the People's Palm Oil Rejuvenation (PSR) program.

Chairman of the Indonesian Sustainable Oil Palm Farmers Forum (Fortasbi) Narno, palm oil governance that must be considered by the government is the support for oil palm farmers' institutions to have palm oil processing factories to cooking oil by utilizing the existence of palm oil funds managed by BPDPKS.

President Jokowi announced the government's policy to reopen exports of cooking oil and its raw materials starting May 23, 2022, after being banned since April 28.