PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA – The global vegetable oil trade is heavily dominated by palm oil, accounting for more than 55% of vegetable oil exports. Indonesia plays a crucial role in this trade, supplying over 30% of global export demands, including derivative products.
Indonesia is firmly established as the leading supplier of palm oil worldwide, a fact that is indisputable. The country’s significant contribution to global palm oil supply is expected to continue growing in the future.
This growth is supported by the global market’s demand for sustainable certifications such as Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO), Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), and International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC). As the largest palm oil producer in the world, Indonesia is actively working to improve governance in palm oil plantations for both large companies and smallholders.
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One concrete thing is about to accelerate the ISPO certification that the Ministry of Agriculture conducts. According to Director of Plantation Product Marketing and Process, Prayudi Syamsuri, palm oil and its derivative products play crucial roles in fulfilling the market needs in the world reaching 31,9 million tons in 2022 or equal to more than 30% of the total vegetable oil trade in the world.
To fully support sustainable palm oil industries, it is significant for Indonesia to encourage ISPO certification for the planters including the smallholders that cultivate 42 percent or about 6,29 million hectares of total palm oil plantations in Indonesia.
“By accelerating ISPO certification, it is hoped the smallholders would always supply palm oil needs for the world,” he said in a palm oil discussion in Jakarta by the early of April 2024 that Palmoilmagazine.com attended.
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Nevertheless, it would not be successful if the government and big private companies would do it. The smallholders should also play their roles, Prayudi mentioned, because they have the potential implement the best and sustainable agricultural practices. That is why it really needs the supports from many parties, including smallholders’ organization, for instance, Serikat Petani Kelapa Sawit (SPKS).
In addition, SPKS actively encouraged to get ISPO acceleration for the smallholders. SPKS would do the best to escalate their capability and capacity by having multi-party collaboration to make sure that their cultivation is as standards as sustainability ones. This would cover smallholders’ group establishment, trainings to escalate their skills in the best cultivation practices.
Chairman of SPKS, Sabarudin emphasized that it is significant to implement sustainable practices. It should start from the plantation, area legality, such as, cultivation document. This is very crucial which means, multi – party collaboration would be the key to escalate sustainability in these industries. He continued that by having organization, smallholders’ capacity would be escalated by having the best and sustainable cultivation practices. (T1)
