Bakrie Sumatera's 2005 rubber harvest may rise

Bakrie Sumatera's 2005 rubber harvest may rise

Bloomberg, Jakarta

PT Bakrie Sumatera Plantations, Indonesia's third-biggest publicly traded agriculture company, may harvest about 23 percent more rubber next year, President Ambono Januarianto said in Jakarta.

The company's natural rubber output may rise about 5,000 metric tons from a forecast output of 21,562 tons in 2004, Januarianto told investors today. On Dec. 20, the company bought PT Huma Indah Mekar, which has 4,407 hectares of rubber plantations in the southern part of Sumatra, Januarianto said.

The acquisition will help the company increase sales about 22 percent next year, he said. North Sumatra-based Bakrie Sumatera forecasts sales to rise to Rp 754 billion (US$81 million) from an expected Rp 618.6 billion this year.

"Next year's sales will also be helped by higher rubber prices," Janurianto said. The company should sell natural rubber at an average price of $1.37 a kilogram next year, compared with $1.31 this year, he said.

Rubber sales contribute about two-fifth of the company's rupiah revenue, he said, with palm oil sales accounting for the rest.

Bakrie Sumatera has 19,000 hectares of rubber plantations in the country.