tate-owned port operator Pelabuhan Indonesia I (Pelindo I) will turn two of its ports into crude palm oil (CPO) export centers as the company beefs up its palm-oil related services, an executive has said.
Pelindo I senior vice president M. Eriansyah said on Wednesday the two ports were Dumai Port in Riau and Belawan Port in North Sumatra, both are CPO shipment hubs for Indonesia that have seen growing CPO exports.
“Moreover, the government is currently intensively developing infrastructure that is able to accelerate the distribution of goods and reduce logistics costs,” Eriansyah said.
The upgrades could help the country better facilitate palm oil exports, a top contributor to total exports in Indonesia. In 2018, palm oil exports accounted for around 10 percent of Indonesia’s overall exports, amounting to $17.89 billion for 32 million tons shipped.
Pelindo I will double the liquid bulk loading point capacity in Dumai to 500 tons per hour from 200 to 300 tons per hour. The company has also set up an integrated pipeline facility at Belawan Port that is connected to hundreds of CPO storage tanks, Eriansyah explained.
Dumai exported 4.75 million tons of CPO and its derivatives in 2019, up 5.77 percent from 4.49 million tons in 2018, primarily exports to India, China, Japan and Europe, Eriansyah said.
Meanwhile, Belawan exported 3.27 million tons of CPO and its derivatives in 2019, up by 12.6 percent from the 2.91 million tons exported in 2018. The port mainly exports to South Asian countries and the Netherlands.
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