Evidence Palm Oil More Efficient Than Sunflower-Rapeseed Oil
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The Indonesian government has asserted that palm oil remains the world’s most efficient vegetable oil-producing crop compared to alternatives such as soya, sunflower and rapeseed, with advantages evident in productivity and land-use efficiency.
Hendratmojo Bagus Hudoro, Director of Estate Crop Protection at the Directorate General of the Ministry of Agriculture, stated that Indonesia’s average palm oil productivity currently reaches approximately 3.3 tonnes of oil per hectare.
“When we compare this with soya, productivity is only around 0.4 tonnes. Other commodities such as sunflower and rapeseed are also significantly below palm,” Bagus said during a discussion on Media Synergy for Sustainable Palm Oil at the Ministry of Agriculture on Monday, 2 March 2026.
He noted that this difference demonstrates palm oil’s significant advantage in producing vegetable oil.
“In terms of productivity, palm oil is far superior to other oil-producing crops,” he stated.
Beyond productivity, land-use efficiency is also a critical factor making palm oil more competitive.
“To produce one tonne of palm oil, only approximately 0.26 to 0.3 hectares of land is required,” Bagus said.
In comparison, other vegetable oil crops require substantially larger land areas.
“Sunflower may require approximately 1.4 hectares to produce the same amount of oil, rapeseed also around 1.4 hectares, whilst soya can reach 2 hectares,” he explained.
This efficiency makes palm oil a strategic commodity for many vegetable oil-importing nations. Additionally, Indonesia possesses advantages in palm plantation acreage.
“Our palm plantation area currently exceeds 16 million hectares. This makes Indonesia one of the countries with the largest palm plantation area globally,” he noted.
However, he assessed that this potential has not yet been fully utilised optimally.
“Our current production is approximately 47 million tonnes, whilst its potential is still significantly larger. This means we still have work to do in increasing productivity,” he stated.
He added that productivity improvements are important given the diverse management structure of Indonesia’s palm plantations.
“Our palm plantations are managed by various parties, including private companies, state-owned enterprises and smallholder farmers,” Hendratmojo said.
He emphasised that collaboration among all stakeholders is necessary to enhance productivity whilst maintaining Indonesia’s palm oil competitiveness in global markets.
“With the productivity and land-use efficiency advantages we possess, palm oil actually has a very strong position in the global vegetable oil market,” he concluded.