JAKARTA – The Association of Indonesian Producers of Oleochemical (Apolin) said that the production capacity of Indonesia’s palm oil based oleo-chemical industry is the largest in the world. Currently, Indonesia has a total production capacity of oleochemical at 23.3 million tons per year.
Apolin Chairman Rapolo Hutabarat pointed out that Indonesia’s oleochemical production consists of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) at around 12 million tons per year, and the rest are methyl ester, glycerin, and soap noodle.
“So, Indonesia’s total production capacity of olechemical is 23.3 million tons per year. It is the largest in the world based on palm oil,” Antara quoted him as saying in a written statement.
Generally, oleochemical products in Indonesia consist of five main categories, namely fatty acid, fatty alcohol, methyl ester, glycerin, and soap noodle. Rapolo said that during 2020 various derivatives of the main categories had been exported to many countries at a total volume of 3.85 million tons with a total export value of US$2.64 billion.
Apolin reported that Indonesia’s export of palm oil based oleochemical increased by 26 percent during the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, it has been increasing during the last three years from 2.8 million tons worth USD2.4 billion in 2018, to 3.2 million tons in 2019 and to 3.85 million tons with a total export value of US$2.64 billion in 2020.
Rapolo said that with the continually increasing global demand, Apolin asks all stakeholders, especially the universities and research institutions, to develop more advanced technologies to produce various further derivative products from the fatty acid, fatty alcohol, and methyl ester, which are growingly needed to feed the downstream industries to meet the increasing global needs.
He noted that Apolin and Akademi Teknik Industri (ATI), a polytechnic academy based in Padang, West Sumatra, have established a synergy to develop human resources needed by the palm oil industry in the country. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) during a virtual ceremony on Monday, 22 February 2021.
“A synergy of universities, industries, and the government is a must in seeking a breakthrough to develop quality human resources, create advanced technology, and produce a variety of products with high value added and highly competitive at the local and global markets,” he said.
According to him, the MoU is concerned with development of curriculum based on the principle of link and match as required by the industries and implementation of dual system practical works for the polytechnic students of ATI Padang, implementation of internship for polytechnic lecturers of ATI Padang, and partnership in organizing seminars, public lectures, research and community services.
“The signing of the MoU with institutions like ATI Padang is a strategic step for palm oil stakeholders to implement the principle of link and match between the industrial players and universities,” he said.
ATI Director Ester Edwar said that the signing of the MoU with Apolin is aimed to implement the vocational education based on the principle of link and match with industries.
Meanwhile, Arus Gunawan, the head of industrial human resource development board at the industry ministry, said that the vocational education is part of the government policies to strengthen the industrial structure. “Other policies include the gas price, program of downstream, and import substitution program of 35 percent,” he said. (*)
Source: CNN Indonesia/Wartaekonomi.co.id | Featured image via worldatlas.com
