Astra Agro CPO exports double

Astra Agro CPO exports double

JAKARTA: PT Astra Agro Lestari, a major Indonesian producer of crude palm oil, said on Tuesday that its CPO exports doubled last year thanks to higher overseas demand.

CPO exports jumped to 331,767 metric tons in 2004 from 165,248 tons in 2003, the company said in a statement.

India was the biggest export market for Astra Agro last year, accounting for 143,764 tons, or 43 percent of total exports. Malaysia, Vietnam and the Netherlands, among others, made up the rest.

"Robust CPO (output) allows us to meet export demand," said Tjahyo Dwi Ariantono, the company's investor relations official.

As previously reported, Astra Agro produced 765,172 tons of CPO in 2004, up from 633,425 tons in 2003.

It expects CPO output to expand to around 850,000 tons this year.

Tjahyo declined to give an export target for 2005. However, he said the volume of exports usually matches that of domestic sales.

Astra Agro manages 198,000 hectares of oil palm plantations in Indonesia. It plans to expand its plantations by 16,500 hectares this year.-- Dow Jones