VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Oil World CEO Thomas Milke has forecast that Indonesia’s crude palm oil (CPO) production will increase by 1.7 million–1.9 million tons next year, but it will stagnate compared to 2018.

“In other words, CPO production growth has remained stagnant in the past couple of years,” he said at the virtual Indonesian Palm Oil Conference (IPOC 2021), here on Thursday.

Meanwhile, global vegetable oil production is projected to increase by 25 million tons to reach a record high of 611 million tons, he noted at the conference themed 'Role of Palm Oil Industry toward Sustained Economy Recovery'.

Meanwhile, a commodity analyst at Godrej International Limited, Dorab Mistri, forecast that the CPO price, which hovered over an average of US$1 thousand per ton throughout this year, will potentially see a correction next year.

The improving global condition in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to make Indonesia and Malaysia’s fresh fruit bunches stable, he said.

Dorab also forecast Indonesia’s CPO production will increase to 1 million tons in 2022.

Meanwhile, chairman of LMC International, James Fry, predicted that demand for vegetable oils will recover in 2021–2022 although it has declined since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic hitting China and India.

“This happens because demand for vegetable oils will be far stronger than expected. Meanwhile, domestic vegetable oil production will not be able to meet needs,” Fry said. (Antaranews)