Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) has\naffirmed that the palm oil industry in Indonesia has implemented\nsustainability principles and is environmentally friendly, in line with\nglobal market demands for plantation commodities.<\/p>\n
Director of Plantation Product Downstreaming at the Directorate\nGeneral of Plantations, Ministry of Agriculture, Kuntoro Boga Andri,\nstated that palm oil land is not deforestation because palm oil industry\nplayers are required to obtain Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO)\ncertification in accordance with Ministry of Agriculture Regulation\nNumber 33 of 2025, which regulates environmental aspects and legal land\ngovernance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe standards we provide can be recognised by other countries. As\nthe world\u2019s largest palm oil producer, we essentially have the same\nuniversal sustainability values. The environmentally friendly palm oil\nthat we are promoting has a positive impact on the environment and\nsustainability,\u201d he said in his statement in Jakarta on Friday.<\/p>\n
He mentioned the strong contribution of palm oil to energy and food,\nespecially as Indonesia will enter B50, namely the use of 50 percent\npalm oil for biofuel or biodiesel, in July 2025.<\/p>\n
In the global context, he added, Indonesian palm oil contributes 62\npercent to the world\u2019s palm oil supply and more than 54 percent compared\nto the world\u2019s vegetable oils because palm oil\u2019s productivity is 5-10\npercent greater than other vegetable oils.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, data from the Directorate General of Plantations, Ministry\nof Agriculture statistics publication, indicates that Indonesia has the\nworld\u2019s largest palm oil plantation area of 16.83 million hectares (2025\nand 2026 data).<\/p>\n
In addition to being the largest contributor to non-oil and gas\nforeign exchange with a value of around Rp 440 trillion in 2024, the\npalm oil industry has provided jobs for 16 million people and serves as\na driver of local economic growth through entrepreneurship based on\nplantation commodities.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo palm oil is a national strategic commodity that provides\nsignificant contributions to Indonesia\u2019s economy, not only for food but\nalso for energy,\u201d he said while delivering a presentation at the \u201c1st\nInternational Environment Forum 2026: Does Palm Oil Damage the\nEnvironment?\u201d.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the Council of Palm Oil Producing\nCountries (CPOPC), Musdhalifah Machmud, emphasised that various\naccusations against the palm oil industry are often not accompanied by a\ncomplete understanding and data-based evidence.<\/p>\n
Data from the World Wide Fund for Nature United Kingdom indicates\nthat global palm oil plantations only use around 6-11 percent of the\ntotal land used for world vegetable oil production.<\/p>\n
\u201cCurrently, the use of palm oil land in the world is 28.85 million\nhectares but it can produce 80 million tons of vegetable oil. Palm oil\u2019s\ncontribution to meeting the world\u2019s food needs is around 34 percent\nusing only 7 percent of the world\u2019s land,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
According to her, palm oil\u2019s productivity in producing oil is very\nhigh, and it is efficient in land use compared to other vegetable\noils.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fact, land use for vegetable oil, for example soybean, is 100-200\nmillion hectares but its contribution is only around 15-20 percent,\u201d she\nsaid.<\/p>\n
She emphasised that if palm oil production were replaced by other\ncommodities such as soybeans or sunflowers, land requirements would\nincrease dramatically; even to replace the same volume, the world would\nneed hundreds of millions of additional hectares of new land.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, Musdhalifah affirmed that the palm oil industry must\ncontinue to strengthen sustainability, increase productivity, and\nimprove global communication.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ministry-of-agriculture-affirms-palm-oil-industry-implements-sustainability-principles-1777013706", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }