Manggi Habir, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Plantation companies are one of the first to suffer from the deepening global downturn. And, as the year end nears, it is plantations with scale of production, the right mix of tree maturity and a conservative balance sheet (low debt and high cash levels), that are best able to weather the storm. It was only a few months back, that the sector's outlook still looked so bright. Crude palm oil (CPO) prices were on an unprecedented upward climb.

The Indonesian economy has been generating lucrative profits from the soaring prices of agricultural commodities during the last two years. Following increasing dependency on this business, the recent slump in commodity prices has severely impacted on the economy. The Jakarta Post business section features a special report on commodity sector problems.

After a fierce protest from shipping companies, the Ministry of Transportation temporarily revoked Thursday a new set of Terminal Handling Charge (THC) fees and returned to the old charges On Nov. 1, the ministry set new THC fees -- the charges exporters or importers have to pay to shipping companies -- at US$95 for a 20-foot container and $145 for a 40-foot container, lower than the previous charges of $117 and $177, respectively.