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Indonesia keeps sending CPO to European markets
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Illustration. (Kompas/Iwan Setiyawan) (Kompas/Iwan Setiyawan)
Illustration. (Kompas/Iwan Setiyawan)
An international conference has concluded that Indonesian Crude Palm Oil (CPO) products are still needed by European markets, either for cosmetics, biofuel or as food, indicating the success of the world's biggest CPO producer.
Represented by the Plantation Fund Management Agency, Indonesia has succeeded to encourage an agreement of the European Palm Oil Conference in Milan on October 29 to keep its CPO products in place in European countries.
'The conclusion of the conference states that the substitution of CPO is not necessarily healthier than palm oil based products,' Bayu Krisnamurthi, former vice trade minister, told thejakartapost.com on Friday.
Bayu said the 300 participants in the conference that were there to boycott CPO products was not a solution for the environmental issues, adding that the best solution was to assure that all CPO products were certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO).
'It is a major success for Indonesia to face up to the international negative campaign against our CPO,' Bayu asserted.
According to Stefano Savi, director the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), who delivered a speech at the conference, the certified CPO products reached 12 million tons -- about 51 percent of which is made in Indonesia.
'Meaning Indonesia is the biggest CSPO producer in the world,' Savi said, adding that the growth of certified CPO planters in Indonesia is growing significantly from 850 hectares in 2010 to 145,000 hectares in 2015, which is engaging 40,000 farmers.
Indonesia exported CPO to Europe reaching 3.09 million tons, entering through the Netherlands and Italy, in 2014, the biggest number after India at 3.87 tons and China 3.2 million tons, he said.
According to Indonesia palm oil producers association (GAPKI), Indonesian CPO production is expected to reach 40 million metric tons this year, compared with 32 million tons in 2014. Malaysia produced 19.8 million tons of CPO in 2014.
Indonesia and Malaysia control 85 percent of the global supply of palm oil. (dan)(+)
