CPO output to more than double by 2005
CPO output to more than double by 2005
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's crude palm oil output is projected
to more than double by 2005 to 10 million tons per year, from
around 4.35 million tons last year.
The chairman of the Association of Palm Oil Producers, Derum
Bangun, said in Medan, North Sumatra, on Saturday that the
increase in palm oil production would be a result of the
estimated rapid expansion in the country's palm oil plantation
areas.
He said that palm oil plantations, which at present cover
areas of over 1.4 million hectares, mostly located in Sumatra and
Kalimantan, are projected to grow by at least 200 hectares per
annum.
The increase in the country's size of palm oil plantations is
expected to result in an increase in palm oil productions and
other palm oil-related products by between 8 percent and 10
percent per annum, he said.
Derum said that the projected significant increase in palm oil
production could place it as a prime non-oil export commodity in
the next decade, given the sharp demand of palm oil products
overseas.
He said that the projected increase in the demand will be in
line with the increase in the world's population. "It means that
the demand for cooking oils, soap, butter and shampoo products
will also automatically push up the demand for palm oils," he
said.
He said China, now with a population of around 1.5 billion
people, is, for example, expected to become the world's largest
market for palm oil products by the next decade.
The per capita consumption of cooking oil in China, which is
three kilograms at present, is likely to record a fast growth
because an improvement in the per capita income in that country
would, in turn, result in higher demand for consumer products, he
said of the promising prospects of the palm oil market in the
world.
Derum said that in the next decade, Indonesia will likely face
less barriers in entering the world's palm oil markets because
the present big exporters, such as Malaysia, the Philippines and
several African nations, will only be able to meet their domestic
demands. (hen)