Indonesian Gov't Reasserts Commitment to Sustainable Palm Oil

TheIndonesia.co - The Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to encourage sustainable palm oil as the commodity continues to make great contribution to national economy.

Hartarto said while one of the national focuses is to increase the production and export of oil palm products, the government also aims to ensure the implementation of sustainable practices in oil palm industry.

“The issuance of presidential regulation on the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil shows that Indonesia is serious in making sure that oil palm development meet the principles of sustainable development,” Hartarto said on Wednesday, August 24, as reported by Antara.

On March 13, 2020, President Joko Widodo signed presidential regulation No. 44/2020 on Certification System of the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil Plantation (ISPO).

The Cabinet Secretariat said the ISPO certification system aims to improve “management and development of palm oil plantations in accordance with the ISPO principles and standards, improving acceptability and competitiveness of Indonesian palm oil plantations in national and international markets, and intensifying efforts to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions”.

Hartarto also asked local leaders to support oil palm industry in respective regions, including in facilitating conflict resolution between companies and locals communities.

If the industry continues to receive support, Hartarto said the grander target to increase export will be easier to achieve.

“A larger export of oil palm must be encouraged due to the current high global commodity prices,” he said.

He also discussed downstream policy in national oil palm industry and reaffirmed the plan to put an end to the export of raw materials, including crude palm oil (CPO).

Earlier this year, Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita revealed similar plan and said Indonesia had been working to boost the processing of CPO into products with added value as an effort to improve its contribution to domestic economy.

“As instructed by President Joko Widodo, Indonesia must stop the export of CPO so that the commodity can be processed into value-added derivative products,” Kartasasmita said on March 10.

“So far, downstream is beneficial to add value to national economy, including in increasing investment, labor absorption, and accelerating growth of domestic manufacturing industry,” he added.