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<\/p>\nJAKARTA \u2013 The palm oil industry players are confident that the prolonged dry season caused by the ongoing El Nino phenomenon in Indonesia will not significantly affect the production of palm oil. They even believe that the crude palm oil (CPO) production this year will increase by around 5%.<\/p>\n
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The Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) Chairman Eddy Martono said that the possibly worst impact of dry season this year is the possibility of late harvest. \u201cRegarding the prolonged dry season, it won\u2019t affect production this year. It may just cause late harvest,\u201d Eddy told a press conference on GAPKI\u2019s plan to organize the Indonesian Palm Oil Conference (IPOC) 2023 and Price Outlook that will be held in Bali on 1 \u2013 3 November 2023.<\/p>\n
According to Eddy, the prolonged dry season this year will only impact the production of palm oil next year. \u201cNext year will see a decrease of production if the oil palm plantations are not well-maintained,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Eddy Martono said that if the oil palm plantations are well maintained, there will be no problem with production. \u201cBut even if production in trouble, it won\u2019t be as bad as that in 2015 and in 2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He cited as an example the case of Kalimantan, which had been hit by dry season for the last three months, while Sumatera had only seen it during the last two months. \u201cThere were still scanty rainfalls. It won\u2019t affect production. But without good maintenance, the prolonged dry season will cause production decrease in the following year and possibly in the next two years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
During the same occasion, GAPKI Secretary General Hadi Sugeng said that the long dry season will affect production if growers failed to implement best practices in their respective plantations. In that case, the impact to production can be seen until the next two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cGAPKI member companies have been given guidelines on how to deal with the El Nino phenomenon as part of the best agriculture practices already socialized among the growers. The best practices include reducing chemical activities, optimizing fertilizing with organic materials, and preventing maintenance activities that could trigger fires,\u201d said Hadi Sugeng.<\/p>\n
According to him, a number of plantations owned by GAPKI members had been hit by the dry season during the last two months, causing a delay of production. But production this year is projected to grow by around 5%.<\/p>\n