TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - PT Astra Argo Lestari plans to expand the export market of palm oil. The Company seeks to anticipate the impact of the negative campaigns of European countries on these commodities.
Vice President Director of Astra Agro Lestari , Joko Supriyono, said the government is incentive to encourage companies to develop new markets. "In order for us to have a wider customer base," he said at the Indonesia Stock Exchange Building, Jakarta, Tuesday, August 8, 2017.
Supriyono said the company is considering markets in the Middle East such as Pakistan and Iran. In addition, the company is also targeting the African market. Supriyono said the Indonesian palm oil export market is centered in Europe, India and China.
In addition to an anticipation of a negative campaign, the expansion of export markets also aims to maintain national production. Palm oil production was recorded a surplus of up to 70 percent compared to domestic demand. Astra Agro recorded crude palm oil (CPO) production of 762,000 tons in the first half of 2017.
The number rose 13.7% compared to the same period last year of 670 thousand tons. President Director of Astra Agro, Santosa, said the increase is in line with the increase of fresh fruit and fruit (TBS) production by 23.%. The amount rose from 2 million tonnes in mid 2016 to 2.5 million tonnes by the middle of this year.
Meanwhile, the increase of FFB purchases from third parties rose 14.7% from 1.1 million tons to 1.27 million tons. Astra Agro has a planted an area of 297 thousand hectares of oil palms planted as of June 2017.
The land consists of 233.3 thousand hectares of core plantation and a plasma plantation of 63.6 thousand hectares. From the total, recorded 267.9 thousand hectares have been produced. The company plans to use capital expenditure to work on 30,000 hectares of unproduced crops and fertilizer production and supporting infrastructure development.
The fund is set at around Rp 1.2 trillion out of a total of Rp 2 trillion this year. During the first quarter, the company recorded a net income of Rp 8.55 trillion. The value rose 34.7% compared to last year from a net income of Rp 6.35 trillion.
The increase was mainly driven by higher sales volume of CPO products and derivatives. Another driving force is the average selling price of CPO which rose 10% from Rp 7,768 per kilogram to Rp 8,536 per kilogram. The company's operating profit also rose 85.3% to Rp 1.52 trillion. In the first semester, the profit rose 31.7% to Rp 1.04 trillion from Rp 792 billion.
VINDRY FLORENTIN
