PALMOILMAGAZINE, JAKARTA — The Indonesian Association of Professional Plantation Practitioners (P3PI) has highlighted ongoing high loss rates in national palm oil mills. According to Posma Sinurat, Head of Palm Oil Mill Division at P3PI, losses typically range between 1% and 1.8%. However, with proper management, he believes this figure can be reduced to as low as 0.98%.
“In an ideal scenario, losses can be brought below 1%. For a practical benchmark, we use 1%—the lower, the better,” Posma told Palmoilmagazine.com during the 3rd TPOMI Press Conference in Jakarta on Tuesday, June 3, 2025.
He pointed out that mill losses are primarily influenced by what he called the “2Ms”: Manpower and Machinery. Both factors are critical in achieving efficiency in palm oil processing.
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“When we talk about manpower, it refers to workers who fully understand how the machines operate. Many on-site workers still lack the necessary knowledge to run machinery optimally,” he said.
Posma gave examples of mills still operating with worn-out or poorly calibrated equipment, such as degraded screw presses. This situation is worsened by limited training and the absence of consistent operational standards.
“Often, the equipment is substandard or has lost performance capacity, and it’s operated by untrained personnel. This combination leads to significant losses,” he added.
To address this, Posma outlined two key strategies: improving human resource quality and ensuring strict adherence to operational procedures for machine use.
“Large corporations generally have strong SOPs and effective training systems. The real challenge lies with smaller companies, which often lack trained labor and standardized operating procedures,” he noted.
He stressed the importance of having skilled workers with certified competencies, especially in machine calibration and performance monitoring. Without this, machines are often operated based on guesswork or habit rather than precise technical procedures.
“Sometimes, workers rely on intuition or routine, which leads to subpar results. Strict operational standards are essential for better output,” Posma explained.
Not Worse Than Malaysia, But Much Room for Improvement
When asked to compare with Malaysia, Posma noted that Indonesia’s mill losses are not significantly higher. However, challenges remain—particularly in governance and management practices in rural areas.
“Malaysia doesn’t necessarily have lower loss rates. But here in Indonesia, there’s still a lot of room for improvement. Many rural or remote mills lack proper management, and knowledge on machinery maintenance and workforce training is still unevenly distributed,” he said.
He emphasized the need for greater awareness and education among small-scale mill owners and operators on machine efficiency and worker training. Posma is optimistic that improving these two areas could significantly boost Indonesia’s palm oil productivity.
“Many mill operators already know the solutions—they just need access to information and training support. This presents a huge opportunity to enhance national productivity,” he concluded. (P2)
