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.