InfoSAWIT, BANDUNG – Palm oil industries significantly play the roles for the economy in Indonesia. But to confirm the sustainability and smallholders’ welfare, it needs guarantee of doing business that involves plantations from ‘forest region status’ and certification that would make the industries as ‘bankable asset’.

Palm oil productivity in smallholders’ levels are not ideal still that reached 25 tons of fresh fruit bunch (FFB) per hectare per year. To escalate it, it needs strategic things, such as, modern technology implementation, intensively technical guidelines for the smallholders.

To realize much higher sustainability, it needs to prioritize biomass advantage for higher value – products. This would be realized by taking advantages on nowadays technology that would produce low emission but escalate nutrient quality in FFB.

Knowing palm oil industrial values in 2023, domestic supply totally reached 22,9 million tons or about US$ 21,4 billion. While palm oil exports reached 33,3 million tons with the values about US$ 38,4 billion. Biomass advantages reached 140,9 million tons with the value about US$ 3,1 billion. The total values from palm oil industries reached US$ 62,9 billion.

But Chairman in duty of Indonesian Palm Oil Board (IPOB), Sahat Sinaga said there would be bigger potential if the nowadays regulations would not postpone industrial development.

“The numbers could escalate in Indonesia if the regulations do not closely regulate,” Sinaga said in a Workshop Jurnalis Industri Hilir Sawit that InfoSAWIT attended, Thursday (31/1/2024) in Bandung.

He also said it needs cooperation among the governments, industries, and the people to create supporting regulation in palm oil industries while noticing sustainability aspects and environmental conservation.

“By these, it is hoped palm oil industries in Indonesia would always be developing sustainably and delivering maximal advantages for every stakeholder,” Sinaga said. (T2)