This causes our trade balance to be positive
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Chairperson of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki) Eddy Martono has revealed that the domestic palm oil industry contributed US$5.29 billion in foreign exchange in the period from January to February this year.

"Palm oil exports in Indonesia's trade balance have a positive contribution, as of February this year, it was still US$5.29 billion. This causes our trade balance to be positive,” he said at a media gathering held in Jakarta on Friday.

The value of exports increased from US$2.60 billion in January to US$2.68 billion in February, he added.

This increase was mainly due to an increase in the exports of refined palm oil from 2.121 million tons in January to 2.254 million tons in February (the price of refined products was higher than the price of CPO raw materials), Martono said.

According to Gapki, domestic consumption gradually increased to 20.9 million tons in 2022 from 18.4 million tons in 2021. Consumption in 2020 and 2019 was recorded at 17.35 million tons and 16.7 million tons respectively.

"If we look at production in the last four years, the trend has been stagnant, while from the consumption graph, it has actually increased," he explained.

He said he believes that an increase in consumption will occur in 2023 because of the mandatory B35 program, which is expected to boost consumption by up to 3 million tons.

To achieve this target, he asked the government to carry out the people's oil palm rejuvenation (PSR) program without delay.

Gapki also recorded a downward trend in export volume of 2.91 million tons in February 2023, while in January, it was recorded at 2.94 million tons.

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Reporter: Asri Mayang Sari
Editor: Sri Haryati
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