TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia officially launched its crude palm oil (CPO) futures exchange today, October 13. Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan hoped the country would no longer use the exchanges in Malaysia and Rotterdam as a reference for CPO prices.

“We hope that with this exchange, we have the benchmark of global CPO price as we are the number one [palm oil producer],” the minister, known as Zulhas, said in his speech at the launch in Jakarta, Friday.

He stressed that the exchange was necessary since Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil with a total output of nearly 47 million tons. “The goal is to establish a CPO reference price that is transparent, accountable, and involves many sellers and buyers,” he added.

Didid Noordiatmoko, head of the Futures Exchange Supervisory Board (Bappebti), said that his side had appointed the Indonesia Commodity and Derivatives Exchange as the exchange.

“With the establishment of this CPO exchange, it is hoped that Indonesia's dream, our dream of having a fair, transparent, and clear time CPO reference price can be realized soon,” Didid said.

He added that CPO trading via the exchange is not mandatory. However, he believed that Indonesian CPO players would be willing to participate in improving Indonesia's palm oil industry.

“We also encourage palm oil MSMEs and entrepreneurs to participate in the Indonesian CPO exchange. This is because trading on this exchange will put sellers and buyers on the same level playing field,” Didik explained.

Didik also said that ICDX would conduct socialization and training on the trading mechanism to optimize CPO trading on the Indonesian CPO Futures Exchange.

AMY HEPPY

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