InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Senior economist of Universitas Indonesia, Faisal Basri told crude palm oil (CPO) production in Indonesia is quite enough to fulfill every need in our country, both for food and energy.
But it needs to investigate the distribution. If the condition faces the option between food (palm cooking oil) and energy (palm oil biodiesel), the stocks would tend to fulfill the need which can deliver higher economic value, which is, biodiesel.
“If CPO is sold for biodiesel needs, it would be more expensive than it is sold to food needs. The root is that the government recklessly decided ‘two prices’ of CPO. This is the root of problem which derived from the government’s policy. Wherever it is in the world, there is no such reckless policy like that,” Basri said in a webinar with the theme “Problematika Minyak Goreng, CPO Bagi Pangan vs Energi”, Saturday (4/1/2023).
It means, he continued, the stakeholders would be interesting more to supply CPO for biodiesel than it to other industries. Moreover, the company would get incentives from the government through Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency. In the future, CPO supplies would be substituted to biodiesel needs and defeat other industries (food). “I clearly knew that there is competition between belly and energy. It is undeniable. CPO for energy wins for there is no loss to get but CPO for palm cooking oil could be in loss,” Basri mentioned.
Executive Director of Sawit Watch, Ahmad Surambo said, when there is no clear regulation about CPO for food and energy needs, there would be competition for both. “Until now there is regulation about Business Rights permit to produce biofuel. Everything is for food plantation. If this happens, we would always be stuck by two option – CPO for food or biofuel. This would lead us vulnerable in the future,” he said in the official release to InfoSAWIT, Sunday (5/2/2023).
Rambo told, it needs to publish a policy that regulates CPO for consumption to improve palm oil governance. In the bigger scale, it needs to improve it from upstream to downstream industries to get synchronized in the implementation. (T2)
