PALMOILMAGAZINE, ACEH – In mid-May 2024, the price of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) has dropped at various levels, including for smallholders, middlemen, and mills. This trend has been ongoing for some time and has significantly impacted all palm oil stakeholders in the region.
Adi Syahputra, a 30-year-old smallholder from the Village of Balai, Sub-district of Sungai Iyu, reported that the FFB price along the coast is about Rp 1,700 to Rp 1,800 per kilogram, remaining steady over the past week.
“In mid-March to April 2024, FFB prices around the Iyu River were nearly Rp 2,000 per kilogram. But in May 2024, they started to decline,” Adi said on Monday, 20 May 2024. Despite the decrease, he is grateful that the price is still above Rp 1,500 per kilogram.
Samuri, an FFB agent in Aceh Tamiang said that FFB in the mills should get cheaper in the past week. “FFB in many mills also gets cheaper since the last week. “FFB in the mills got cheaper from more than Rp 2.000 to be Rp 1.950 per kilogram,” Samuri said. As the owner of big scale FFB ram in Tenggulun and Bandar Pusaka, Samuri keeps purchasing FFB from the smallholders expensive, not too much different from the price in the mills. “Even though the mills, FFB gets cheaper, we should adjust the price. Sometimes, if the FFB is in good quality, we would purchase it with the same price in the mills,” he said.
Head of Plantation, Plantation, Livestock, and Agriculture Agency Regency of Aceh Tamiang, Edwar Fadli Yukti said that the FFB price decision from Aceh Province Plantation Agency has not been got this week. But based on the FFB purchase price in many mills in Aceh Tamiang on 17 May 2024, it is various.
“The most expensive FFB from 12 mills in the Regency of Aceh Tamiang is in Pabrik Kelapa Sawit (PKS) Mora Niaga Jaya. It is about Rp 1.880 to Rp 2.380 per kilogram for smallholders or plasma. PKS Pati Sari, Parasawita, Sisirau, Betami, Bumi Tamiang Sentosa, Tri Agro Palma Tamiang, PTPN 1 Unit Pulau Tiga, and PTPN 1 Tanjung Seumantoh have various price, from Rp 1.990 to Rp 2.220 per kilogram,” Edwar said as Palmoilmagazine.com quoted from the official page of Aceh Province, Tuesday (21/5/2024).
Two mills are not operating, such as, PKS Bumi Sama Ganda and Bima Desa Sawita. Meanwhile, PKS Socfindo Sungai Liput did not get or purchase from other parties. “Last week, the independent smallholders’ FFB was about Rp 1.750 per kilogram, and in the middlemen (agents) was about Rp 1.950 per kilogram,” Edwar said. (T2)
