GAPKI Escalates Palm Oil Exports to China, India Following EU Deforestation Law
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2 August 2023 08:56 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) chairperson Eddy Martono stated that his side is eyeing China as its largest destination for palm oil exports.
Eddy recalled that before the COVID-19 pandemic, palm oil exports to China reached 8 million tons per year. The figure declined below 6 million tons per year during the pandemic.
“Last year (2022) it was 6.3 million tons. This year, we are after 7 million tons. And if possible, it will be above 8 million tons next year,” Eddy said when met at the Trade Ministry office on Tuesday, August 1, 2023.
In addition, Eddy said he would increase exports to India and non-traditional markets, such as Moscow, Russia, and Eastern Europe. “We are also going to Central Asia and Africa.”
Expansion to these countries will be maximized in a bid to prevent Indonesia from depending on the European Union, given the issuance of the European Union's Anti-Deforestation Law which obliges companies to ensure products exported to the EU have not led to deforestation.
The policy potentially hinders Indonesia's palm oil trade with the EU. Eddy claimed he would be bothered by it because exports to the EU have not been too large by far.
“Last year, our foreign exchange was around US$39 billion or Rp600 trillion for exporting 33 million tons of palm oil. In Europe alone, it was only 4 million tons,” Eddy said.
RIRI RAHAYU
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