TEMPO.CO, Bali - Eddy Martono, chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI/IPOA), said there has been a According to Eddy's records, as of August 2024, the national palm oil production volume was 34.7 million tons, down from 36.2 million tons in the same period last year.

"Indonesia as a global palm oil producer has experienced stagnation in palm oil production in recent years," said Eddy at the 20th Indonesian Palm Oil Conference and 2025 Price Outlook (IPOC 2024) on Thursday, November 7.

According to him, this productivity decline is the result of the low effectiveness of the community oil palm rejuvenation program (PSR) that has been running for the past few years. He said that even though the weather has been better than the previous year, palm oil production will not increase immediately.

This downturn in palm oil productivity came at a time when the government was planning to implement the B40 policy. Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia said he was optimistic that the policy could be put in place in January next year.

Earlier, Deputy Energy Minister Yuliot Tanjung said he would focus on energy security and natural resource management to support development and public welfare. This focus is in line with President Prabowo Subianto's directive to achieve energy self-sufficiency.

"Currently we are still at B35, but there are plans to increase this to B40, B50, and B60. Of course, this requires supportive policies, including those related to biodiesel feedstocks derived from palm oil. We will encourage economic operators who have not exported their palm oil products to market them domestically as biodiesel feedstock," Yuliot Tanjung said in an official statement Tempo received on October 24.

In addition to increasing the production of biodiesel, other efforts that the government will make to realize energy self-sufficiency are increasing oil lifting and converting oil-fueled vehicles to electricity.

Rizki Yusrial contributed to the writing of this article.

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