TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS) chairperson Eddy Abdurrachman in Wednesday’s national webinar on palm oil claimed that the palm oil production during the 2020 pandemic had increased compared to the previous year with a total production of 51.58 million tons.

The leftover supply from 2019 was reportedly 4.6 million tons. “Which means this year’s palm oil supply had reached a total of 56 million tons,” said Eddy on February 10.

This number was a staggering rise compared to the annual average of 37.57 million tons. The growth had also boosted the agricultural and plantation GDP throughout 2020.

Based on Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the GDP in this sector had shown a growth at the beginning of the year from 0.01 percent in 2020’s first quarter and became 2.59 percent at the fourth quarter, coinciding with the national GDP that has grown negatively.

Eddy claimed the growth in the palm oil industry would help sustain the job availability and said that millions of people are dependable on this industry sector with 4.2 million direct workers in the sector and 12 million in the indirect relation to the industry. He said the average export values reach US$21.4 billion and estimated the tax revenue contribution is between Rp14-Rp20 trillion annually.

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FAJAR PEBRIANTO