Having Swiss on board for the trade deal between Indonesia and European Free Trade Association, or EFTA, will convey a strong message regarding the discriminated palm oil to the European Union, or EU, according to Deputy Trade Minister Jerry Sambuaga. Indonesia and EFTA inked a comprehensive economic partnership agreement —also known as IE-CEPA— back in…
Amid Covid-uncertainty and a massive second wave, Indonesia decided to double down on what its export economy does best: palm oil. An export tariff cut came into effect over the weekend. The idea is to make Indonesian palm oil and its derivatives irresistible on the global market. The way the tariff scheme is set up,…
Market restrictions in the European Union continue to become the main hurdle for Indonesian palm oil exports for the last three years despite ongoing negotiations and efforts at the World Trade Organization, the industry association said on Thursday. The government has since 2019 engaged in negotiations with the EU and lodged a complaint with the…
Indonesia’s oil reserves will run out in about 10 years, assuming no new reserves are discovered. Natural gas is also estimated to be exhausted in approximately 22 years with existing reserves at 77.3 trillion cubic feet. Meanwhile, coal reserves of 37.6 trillion tonnes will be exhausted within 65 years if exploited at the same scale…
Ongoing negotiations between the European Union and Indonesia on a trade and investment deal should not be hampered by differences over palm oil, the EU’s top diplomat said, even as the bloc aims to phase out use of palm oil in fuel. Palm oil is one of the top exports from Southeast Asia’s largest economy…
Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi earnestly appealed to the European Union (EU) to avoid discriminating against Indonesian palm oil, as the Southeast Asian nation was endeavoring to achieve economic recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “Indonesia’s request is simple that fair treatment be given to Indonesian palm oil,” Marsudi remarked during a virtual press statement after…
Indonesia’s exports racked up their strongest rise in 11 years in April, boosted by a surge in prices of key commodities such as palm oil and copper, though the unexpectedly robust figure is not expected to change the central bank’s policy settings. The resource-rich nation’s shipments rose 51.94% on a yearly basis to $18.48 billion,…
Palm oil surged about 5% to end near a record high as soybean oil powered to its highest level since 2008 and industry participants anticipated a drop in production in second-biggest grower Malaysia. Better export data for the first half of May, a rebound in the Dalian market and some bargain buying are supporting palm…
Bridging World Earth Day on April 22 and World Ocean’s Day on June 8 the Chronicle aims to run a series of articles that hope to help address the various ways people can ‘Restore Our Earth’, this week it’s everyday product awareness. Chronicle reporter Eyleen Gomez looks into the environmental impact of sunscreen and palm…
Neither the pandemic nor the low oil prices succeeded in slowing the growth of the global biodiesel market. As economies worldwide start to recover from the Covid crisis, and environmental concerns increase, the demand is set to remain robust in 2021. Key Trends and InsightsIn 2020, the demand for biodiesel declined to 39.5M tonnes after…
Indonesia’s food and beverage industry, particularly palm oil, has contributed significantly to the country’s exports, in addition to base metal industry and chemical product and chemical industry. The food and beverage industry contributed US$9.69 billion, the base metal industry at US$5.87 billion, and the chemical product and chemical industry amounting to US$4.18 billion. “The food industry’s export…
Indonesia has officially agreed to co-chair an international alliance that brings together producers and consumers of forest agriculture and commodities. Together with the UK, Indonesia will lead more than 25 countries grouping in the Forest Agriculture & Commodities Trade (FACT) Dialogue to protect and increase sustainability of supply chains of forest products. “I am delighted…
Palm oil producer Astra Agro Lestari booked a net profit of a whopping Rp 833.1 billion (around $57 million) in the pandemic-struck 2020, the company announced in a recent virtual public expose. According to Astra Agro director Mario Casimirus Surung Gultom, the company’s net profit soared 294.6 percent from Rp 211.1 billion in 2019. “Our…
Indonesia is one small step away from having its first trade agreement with European countries including Iceland and Norway after The House of Representatives recently approved the draft for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IE-CEPA). The Bill over the deal is between Indonesia and the four countries that make up the European Free Trade Association…
Indonesia and Romania have agreed to increase cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, investment, counter-terrorism, COVID-19 handling, and mutual support at international forums during high-level talks held virtually on Thursday. Deputy Foreign Minister Mahendra Siregar and director general of American and European affairs at the Foreign Ministry, Ngurah Swajaya, co-chaired the Indonesian delegation at…
Indonesia once again spoke up against the singling out of palm oil, with the second round discussion on the vegetable oil —between European Union, or EU, and Asean— coming up this April. The issue of sustainable palm oil has been a hot topic between Asean and the EU. Both blocs agreed to establish a joint working group…
Indonesia’s palm oil production is controversial due to its contribution to climate change and loss of biodiversity as a result of large-scale deforestation. Researchers at Wageningen University & Research joined forces with partners in the USA and Indonesia to show that Indonesia can meet the future demand for palm oil in a climate-friendly way without…
The palm oil imports into the country increased by 34.03 percent during the first eight months of the current fiscal year against the imports of the same period of last year. The palm oil imports during July-February (2020-21) were recorded at $1585.381 million against the imports of $1182.899 million during July-February (2019-20), showing increase of…
Indonesia is in the process of ratifying the EFTA-Indonesia Economic Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (IE-CEPA) with Switzerland, marking a positive sign to the archipelagic country’s palm oil sector — dubbed as the culprit of deforestation. The referendum in Switzerland held in early March showed that 51.7 per cent of the votes supported the free trade agreement…
When it comes to making the palm oil industry more sustainable, the plantations themselves can’t do it alone. Agus Purnomo, managing director for sustainability and strategic stakeholder engagement at Singapore-headquartered palm oil company Golden Agri-Resources, said the collaboration of governments and consumers is vital, especially as the industry faces additional challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic.…
