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)