InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – According to what TuK Indonesia found in 2021, palm oil plantations in this country laid on about 15 million hectares, or as large as Tunisia. In 2017 - 2021, palm oil plantations got larger about 2,7 million hectares or equal to Albania. Palm oil plantations developed the largest in Riau, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan that laid about 2,9 million hectares, 2,07 million hectares, and 2,05 million hectares in a row.
“Of the total palm oil plantations, the rich men in the study mastered more than 3,9 million hectares or equal to 26% of the total palm oil plantations in Indonesia in 2021,” TuK Indonesia noted as in the official statement to InfoSAWIT, Monday (16/10/2023).
In the contrary, smallholders’ housing got narrower area mastery. Data from Central Bureau of Statistic (2019) showed that in 2013 14,25 million smallholders mastered less than 0,5 hectares while in 2018 the numbers escalated to be 15,81 million smallholders or about 57,12% of the total smallholders’ housing in the period that reached 27,68 million housings.
The gap of area mastery can be seen from many palm oil and pulp and paper corporates’ income that many rich men controlled. In 2021 their income reached almost US$ 100 billion with the profits about US$ 5 billion. Of 24 palm oil corporates in Indonesia, nine of them are registered in Indonesian Exchange and the rests are registered in many stocks in the globe.
The huge income makes them as the wealthiest men with big cash. In this report, these are 10 richest men in palm oil sectors:
- Budi Hartonso (Djarum) US$ 20.500 million,
- The Widjaja (Sinar Mas) US$ 9.700 million,
- The Keswick (Jardine Matheson) US$ 8.684 million,
- Anthoni Salim (Group Salim),
- Lee Yeow Chor & Yeow Seng (IOI) US$ 4.600 million,
- Bachtiar Karim (Musim Mas Group) US$ 4.000 million,
- Kuok Khoon Hong (Wilmar) US$ 3.800 million,
- Lim Kok Thay & Lim Keong Hui (Genting Group) US$ 2.300 million,
t9. Martua Sitorus (Wilmar / KPN Corporation) US$ 2.000 million,
- The Fangiono (Fangiono Agro Plantation (FAP Agri) US$ 1.800 million.
“They are supported by big finance from financial institutions such as bank loans in big numbers. Data from Forests and Finance per May 2023 showed that the banks in Indonesia, such as, Bank Mandiri, Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), Bank Central Asia (BCA), and Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) were the biggest loan banks for the richest men in 2017 to September 2022,” TuK Indonesia noted.
The dominancy would make economic gap worse in Indonesia, create exploitation for men and nature extremely band. That is why it needs polity to support poor people in Indonesia.
“The finding in this report emphasized that it is important to solve the dominancy of the rich men in palm oil plantation sectors in Indonesia and it needs to confirm that finance from financial institutions should be the same with sustainable financial plans that Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK) regulated,” Tuk Indonesia noted. (T2)
