The Ministry of Agriculture is focusing on efforts to increase the production of crude palm oil (CPO), which is needed to make B50 biodiesel.
Acting director general of plantations at the ministry, Heru Tri Widarto, said stated on Monday that intensifying existing oil palm plantations offers a quicker solution compared to the time-consuming rejuvenation process, which can take up to three years.
“Intensification is a viable option for both smallholder and private oil palm plantations,” he added.
With Indonesia’s total oil palm plantation area reaching 16.8 million hectares, optimizing existing lands presents a substantial potential for production growth.
Addressing the challenge of balancing CPO demands for food, energy, and exports, Heru Tri Widarto mentioned that the Ministry of Agriculture is currently conducting a comprehensive study.
The study’s findings will determine the necessary production increase to meet domestic consumption, export targets, and the requirements of the B50 biodiesel program.
He expressed confidence in the potential for significant scaling up of CPO production.
“Currently, on average, it is still 3 tons per hectare CPO equivalent. It can still be increased to 5–6 tons of CPO per hectare,” Widarto said.
According to data from the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki), CPO production in 2023 was estimated to reach 50.07 million tons, an increase of 7.15 percent from 2022, when it stood at 46.73 million tons.
Gapki noted that domestic CPO consumption rose from 21.24 million tons in 2022 to 23.13 million tons in 2023.
The implementation of the B35 biodiesel policy, which has been effective since July 2022, increased palm oil consumption by 17.68 percent from 9.048 million tons in 2022 to 10.65 million tons in 2023.
The government has said that Indonesia is ready to increase the biodiesel mix from 35 percent (B35) to 40 percent (B40) in 2025 and prepare for the implementation of B50.
Source from ANTARA
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