Workers are unloading crude palm oil at a port in Cilincing, Jakarta (Source: tempo.co) Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia’sexport volume and value of crude palm oil (CPO) and its derivatives to continueto rise in the next 10 years, predicted Indonesia’s economic analyst BustanulArifin.
In 2017, the export value of palm oil and its derivativeproducts (excluding biodiesel and oleochemicals) skyrocketed to nearly 23billion USD, up about 26 percent against the 18.22 billion USD of the previousyear.
The export volume of palm oil is directly proportional toproduction, along with the increase of average price, Arifin said, adding thatthe trend of this export increase will still happen in 2018. However, the issueof sustainability will remain an obstacle.
The Indonesian government should continue to conduct tradediplomacy to protect foreign exchange because of trade and tariff barriers, theeconomist noted.
Inaddition, the government needs to open new export markets, such as countries inCentral Africa, South Africa and Middle East and former Soviet Union countries,which are considered as promising markets.
Nonetheless,Arifin also warned that traditional export destinations, such as WesternEurope, the US, Japan, India, Pakistan, and China, are not abandoned. Accordingto him, various efforts to inhibit the growth of palm oil industry willcontinue to be launched due to increasingly tight competition in vegetable oiltrade.
Indonesiais still dependant on traditional markets, which account for about 70 percentof the total importers. Meanwhile, Pakistan, Eastern Europe, South Africa, andNorth Africa also have high potential. Therefore, in 2018, Indonesia shouldopen alternative markets, Arifin said.
Indonesiais among the world’s leading palm oil manufacturers along with Malaysia, as thetwo countries make up 90 percent of palm oil production worldwide. In 2018,Indonesia’s palm oil production is projected to hit 37.7 million tonnes.-VNA
