Researcher Suggests Indonesia Develop its Palm Oil Downstream Industry

A researcher from Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University of Japan, Prof. Kosuke Mizuno, has said Indonesia should expand its palm oil downstream industry to increase the contribution of the palm oil sector to the country’s economy.  Prof. Mizuno was a key speaker recently at a discussion on Policy in the Peat Management in Indonesia from the Ecology, Economic and Social aspects held at the campus of the University of Indonesia.  

The professor noted the fast growing palm oil industry along with the oil palm plantation in the country. However, Indonesia is mainly an exporter of crude palm oil while processing products such as soap, cosmetics and margarine are limited. The country’s economic development should not rely only on export of raw material palm oil, he said, adding the crude palm oil raw material need to be processed to get higher selling value.