JAKARTA – Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman underlined the importance of the downstreaming process in Indonesia’s palm oil industry to increase added values in the agricultural sector, including the plantations.

He made the statement when addressing the inauguration ceremony of the central executive board members of the Association of Indonesia’s Plasma Oil Palm Smallholders (ASPEKPIR Indonesia) and the Focus Group Discussion on oil palm replanting, infrastructure and facilities, and intercropping plants at the headquarters of the agricultural ministry in Jakarta recently.

“We have to push up the down-streaming in the palm oil industry that will then increase the added value. As the world’s largest producer of palm oil we have big potential to realize it by strengthening our synergy with other countries,” Minister Amran said.

Based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Indonesia, as the world’s largest producer and exporter of palm oil, produced 45.5 million metric tons (MT) of crude palm oil (CPO) during 2022/2023. “Actually, as the world’s largest producer and exporter we should be able to determine the global prices of palm oil,” he said.

According to him, Indonesia needs the program of sustainable development. It is not only aimed to increase palm oil production, but also to accelerate the process of down-streaming, and continual improvement of governance in the palm oil industries.

He urged the executive board members of ASPEKPIR Indonesia to strengthen their collaboration in developing the palm oil industries of Indonesia.

“We need to strengthen our unity through this organization. You should become a model to emulate, and keep improving so that we become more competitive and survive in the global market,” the minister said. (*)

Source: indoposco.id | sawitindonesia.com