Global Coconut Demand Rises, Indonesian Processing Industry Accelerates Expansion

Global demand for processed coconut products has become a primary driver for increasing coconut processing capacity in Indonesia. Several production facilities are currently being developed to enhance the conversion of coconuts into various derivative products.

One such company, PT Royal Agro Industri (RAI), is expanding its production facilities by importing new machinery from Beyond, China. This equipment will be deployed at coconut processing plants in Manado, North Sulawesi; Sampit, Central Kalimantan; and a new factory currently under construction in Riau.

This expansion was confirmed by the CEO of PT RAI, Johanna. She stated that the construction of the new factory in Riau is a direct response to the continuous rise in demand for processed coconut products in the global market.

“Because the demand for processed coconut products worldwide continues to increase, we are currently building another factory in Riau,” Johanna said in a statement on Friday, 18 September 2026.

Currently, RAI oversees three coconut processing plants: PT Dewa Agricoco Industri (DAI) in Halmahera, North Maluku; PT Tri Mustika Cocomanaesa in Manado, North Sulawesi; and PT Samuda Coco Indonesia in Sampit, Central Kalimantan.

The new machinery will be used to add production lines to the Manado and Sampit plants, while the equipment destined for Riau will form part of the new factory’s production facilities. The company expects all new equipment to be operational for production by next year.

Following the facility upgrades, the processing capacity of the Riau plant is projected to reach 1 million coconuts per day. The Manado plant has a capacity of approximately 500,000 coconuts per day, Sampit handles 350,000, and Halmahera processes 250,000 per day.

“This means we will have the capacity to process more than 2 million coconuts per day,” Johanna added.

The expanded facilities will also be used to produce various coconut derivatives, including low-fat and high-fat desiccated coconut, coconut milk, charcoal, cocofiber, cocopeat, crude coconut oil, and other products.

The owner of PT RAI, Jerry Hermawan Lo, noted that the development of these processing facilities is part of an effort to increase domestic coconut processing value before the products are exported.