Having much higher productivity, efficiency and versatility, the palm oil has outcompeted other rival vegetable oils at the global market since the last few decades. Like facing a great football player, there is no chance for the vegetable oils defenders to prevent the palm oil from scoring the goal of market achievements unless resorting to fouled play.
Despite being complained, such misconducts against the palm oil have been continually perpetrated at the global market of vegetable oils in the absence of a judge to give warning or punishment. The misconducts are especially perpetrated in the forms of negative campaigns to make consumers abandon palm oil and choose other vegetable oils.
“The negative campaigns against the palm oil continue unabated. Many negative views voiced against palm oil are now believed by consumers as the truth although they are just myths,” the Palm Oil Agribusiness Strategic Policy Institute’s (PASPI) Executive Director Tungkot Sipayung said during the palm oil advocacy and the launching of the 4th edition of the book titled “Mitos vs Fakta: Industri Minyak Sawit Indonesia dalam Isu Sosial, Ekonomi, dan Lingkungan Global” (Myths vs Facts: Indonesian Palm Oil Industry On Global Issues of Social, Economy and Environment) at the Udayana University in Denpasar, Bali on Saturday, 04 November 2023.
Dr. Ir. Tungkot Sipayung, who is also the chief author of the book, pointed out that one of the palm oil haters’ wrong words is the myth that palm oil contains cholesterol. “As a matter of fact, plants do not produce cholesterol, as the cholesterol is only produced in animals and humans. The myths had created negative perception among palm oil consumers,” Tungkot told the participants of the palm oil book discussion, which has been previously conducted several times in several cities, including in Medan and Jakarta.
According to him, the negative perception has been also transcribed into various policies in many importing countries, creating non-tariff barriers that hinder, ban and make it difficult for the palm oil products to enter the global market.
Also addressing the forums were PASPI Advisory Board Chairman Bungaran Saragih, the economic coordinating ministry’s Deputy in charge of foods and agribusiness coordination Musdhalifah Machmud, BPDPKS President Director Eddy Abdurrachman, and the national resilience institute’s (Lemhanas) Deputy in charge of strategic assessment Reni Mayerni.
Bungaran said Indonesia’s success as the world’s largest palm oil producer and exporter has caused a new dynamic in the global market of vegetable oils. Due to its high productivity, efficiency and versatility, the palm oil has managed to achieve a leading position with a global market share of almost 40%.
“As a result, competition with other rival vegetable oils has shifted from price competition to non-price competition. They use the issues of sustainability, in social, economy, and environment. In fact, Indonesian palm oil industry is strongly committed to implementing the principles of sustainability,” he said.
According to Bungaran, allowing the negative perceptions reign in the global market will threaten Indonesia’s national assets of oil palm plantations in the upstream sector with a total value of around Rp1,600 trillion and its national assets in downstream sector with a total value of more than Rp1,000 trillion. “It will also threaten the livelihoods of 2.5 million families of smallholders and 17 million workers in the palm oil industries, and our foreign exchange income which was realized at US$39 billion or more than Rp600 trillion in 2022,” he said.
Eddy expressed his appreciation to the publication of the book, which can be used as an effective means to counter the negative campaigns against palm oil. “In several occasions of the Indonesian government taking the palm oil trading issue to the World Trade Organization (WTO), we use the data and facts of palm oil published in the book.
“It happens that currently, we’re facing a big global challenge posed by the European Union Deforestation-Free Regulation (EUDR) which requires agricultural products, including palm oil, exported to EU free from deforestation and comply with sustainability as proven through a number of required documents,” said Eddy.
In the book, all of the myths (opinions, issues, and accusations) are dialecticized and countered with empirical facts derived from various researches conducted by scientists.
“Through this dialectic process, we hope the public will get a balanced information and comprehensive understanding on palm oil and liberate them from negative perceptions impressed by certain groups,” he said.
Udayana Unversity’s Agriculture Faculty Dean Dr. Gusti Ngurah Alit Susanta Wirya, S.P., M. Agr said through the discussion, which was organized under a cooperation between PASPI, BPDPKS, the Agribusiness Study Program, the agribusiness students association (HIMAGRI), and media partner ‘Sawit Indonesia’ magazine, all participants can get the necessary information and knowledge about palm oil that can be useful in their daily lives. “This activity will help participants to deepen their knowledge about palm oil and counter the negative issues circulating among the general public,” he said.
Looking forward, he expressed the hope that such scientific discussions or public lectures on palm oil should be regularly organized to allow the general public getting the true facts about palm oil industry. “Hopefully, this will also encourage students to make scientific works through researches that can be competed,” he said.
Musdhalifah reminded the participants that all Indonesian people, especially the palm oil stakeholders, should join hands in supporting the palm oil which plays a very important role as a growth engine in Indonesian economy. “Our love and support for palm oil is also our love and support for our country. Our country will find it difficult to grow if we criticize the palm oil in the wrong way. Please criticize honestly, but don’t vilify it,” she said. Benget Besalicto ST
