InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – In the press conference of the 2024 Budget Plans in Jakarta, Friday evening, 16 August 2024, Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that the government would intensify palm oil plantation downstream sector next year. The goal would be about to escalate the smallholders’ welfare, support the export performance, and deveop renewable energy through biodiesel program 35 percent and 40 percent or B35 and B40.

She thought, the downstream sectors would focus not on extraction only but also to get additional values from palm oil itself. “Downstream sectors, besides from the plantations, but also the commodity itself, would be the mainstay from Indonesia,” she said, as InfoSAWIT quoted from Tempo, Tuesday (20/8/2024).

The government would notice how to optimize palm oil export values. She said this would be realized by managing export tax and duty. The data showed that palm oil exports showed positive trend or from US$ 16,8 billion in 2015 to be US$ 23,9 billion in 2023.

Besides, the government would maintain FFB rice stable to support the smallholders’ welfare. These would be also to confirm crude palm oil (CPO) production and affordability and biodiesel price.

Renewable energy development program, particularly biodiesel, significantly delivered impacts for diesel import safety. Biodiesel distribution significantly got escalated from 0,92 million kiloliters in 2015 to be 2,24 million kiloliters in 2023, it saved the exchange that reached Rp 121,5 trillion, while in 2015 it just reached Rp 3,7 trillion.

Besides delivering economic impacts, the program contributed to get carbon emission reduction. In 2023, biodiesel program helped reduce carbon emission up to 32,7 million tons equivalent (CO2e), that meant, Indonesia was committed to support the global scale – effort to solve climate change.

Besides palm oil, the government decided other commodities, such as, rubber, coconut, and cocoa as the priorities in agricultural downstream sectors in 2025 -2029. (T2)