Jakarta – The declining Covid-19 pandemic has pushed the business world to increase its penetration into international markets. One of Indonesia’s mainstay products that are currently emerging for export in large quantities is palm kernel shells.
According to a release from the Ministry of Trade on Sunday, Indonesian palm oil industry actors have recorded potential transactions for palm shells to be exported to Japan with a value of $12 million USD per year. This is the result of a one-on-one business matching between Indonesian palm shell business players and Japanese biomass industry business players which was carried out in Pekanbaru, Riau.
Three institutions worked together to hold this business meeting, namely the Indonesian Ministry of Trade, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Jakarta, and the Palm Shell Entrepreneurs Association (APCASI).
“To maintain the trade balance surplus, the government continues to strive to develop products and commodities with export potential with high demand and selling value in the global market. One of these commodities is palm oil shells,” said the Director General of National Export Development at the Ministry of Trade Didi Sumedi.
Japan is currently the largest market for palm kernel shells and is expected to continue to be a major market for the commodity. This is due to Japan’s energy policy which stipulates that 24 percent of energy fulfillment in Japan in 2030 must come from new and renewable energy.
Meanwhile, the Director of Export Development Cooperation at the Ministry of Trade, Marolop Nainggolan, said that they would continue to encourage an increase in exports of palm shells to Japan through cooperation with various stakeholders.
“The Directorate General of National Export Development of the Ministry of Trade together with the Japan External Trade Organization seeks to maintain and increase exports of palm shells to Japan. One form of cooperation is through a one-on-one business matching activity this time,” said Marolop.
Marolop added that the Ministry of Trade invited prospective buyers to directly inspect warehouses and processing factories to be more confident in the quality of Indonesian palm oil shells.
Apart from business meetings, the government also invited Japanese business actors to visit stockpiles and factories producing palm shells in the Siak and Dumai areas, Riau Province. In this way, potential business partners from Japan believe in the huge potential of Indonesian palm oil shells and are interested in establishing long-term business cooperation with local business actors. (*)
Source: JAKARTADAILY.ID