Indonesia registers lower CPO exports

EL NINO, WEAK DEMAND: First decline in 18 years, says Gapki

INDONESIA, for the first time in 18 years, is seeing a decline in palm oil exports, which has fallen 15 per cent to 22.5 million tonnes this year, said Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (Gapki) chairman Joko Supriyono.

“Falling production due to the prolonged El Nino drought phenomenon is also coupled with moderate global demand for palm oil,” said Joko at the 12th Indonesia Palm Oil Conference (IPOC 2016), here, on Thursday.

“It is very important for Indonesia, especially on a government-togovernment platform, to encourage more demand for palm oil from our traditional customers,” he said.

Indonesia and Malaysia, which contribute to more than 80 per cent of global palm oil supply, churned out 32 million tonnes and 19.96 million tonnes of crude palm oil, respectively, last year.

Industry analyst Dorab Mistry recently pegged Malaysia’s production at 19.5 million tonnes for the 2017 calendar year, up from 17.3 to 17.4 million tonnes this year. Indonesian output was seen rising to 33 to 33.5 million tonnes next year, from 29 million tonnes this year.

“There are six million households in Indonesia, whose livelihoods depend on the oil palm planting. That means there are more than 24 million people who are making a living from this sector,” said IPOC 2016 chairperson Mona Surya on Thursday.

She vowed that through positive campaigns the public would come to see the contribution of this sector to Indonesia’s economy.

“Last year, the export contribution is US$18.5 billion (RM82.6 billion), the biggest contributor to the national export foreign exchange reserves,” said Mona.

The theme for IPOC 2016 is “Harmonisation between Market, Market and State Interests”.

The IPOC 2016 and the 2017 Price Outlook, hosted by Gapki, is a forum for senior business executives and policymakers in Indonesia to formulate new strategies to solve difficulties faced by oil palm planters.

This year’s event saw the participation of 1,300 delegates from more than 30 countries.