VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia needs to build support in the global market to tackle the negative sentiment in the European Union for its palm oil, an official from the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs has said.

“For me, it is about how we build the spirit from the inside, or build sympathy from the global market, on the fact that Indonesian palm oil has been managed in a sustainable manner,” deputy for food coordination and agribusiness coordination at the ministry, Musdhalifah Mahmud, said.

She made the remarks at a webinar on 'Indonesian Palm Oil's Future in the European Union Market Post COVID-19’ in Jakarta on Thursday.

The livelihoods of 18 million Indonesian workers depend on the country's palm oil production, she pointed out. The industry can also pave the way for economic development in the rural areas of Indonesia, where the economy is still lagging the rest of the country, she added.

Many regions in Indonesia, she noted, need their economies to be elevated, and they have yet to gain access to economic development, education, and health. One of the measures to empower them is developing palm oil products, she said.

"Perhaps it can be done by initiating a tagline that describes our palm oil, it is not something glamorous or exclusive, rather, it is something that captures the need of our country for the people," she suggested.

The EU remains an important and stable market for Indonesian palm oil exports till date, despite a downward trend in demand, she noted.

Up until October, 2020, the European Union market absorbed 24 percent, worth US$1.40 billion, of the total exports of Indonesian crude palm oil (CPO).

The total exports of Indonesian crude palm oil reached US$5.85 billion in October, 2020, despite the various obstacles imposed by the EU, Mahmud said.

However, the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) II, allegations of subsidies, and dumping have had an impact on the export of palm biofuels, even though this has been compensated for by exports for food and industrial purposes, she observed.

Aside from crude palm oil products, the European Union is also a market for Indonesia's palm oil core products and other palm products.

Before 2020, exports of palm kernel crude oil to countries in the European Union accounted for 33.9 percent of the total exports of such products, or amounting to US$72 million. (antaranews)

Head of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Economic Research Center Agus Eko Nugroho said that Indonesia's economic growth in 2021 will greatly depend on the success of the Covid-19 vaccination, which is currently being echoed by the government.

In a webinar with the theme Reflections on Indonesia's Economy in the 2020 Pandemic Period and 2021 Economic Recovery Efforts which were held virtually, Thursday (17/12/2020), Agus Eko Nugroho said that the success of Covid-19 vaccination would be able to boost Indonesia's economic growth, including increasing people's purchasing power again. 

"Economic growth will experience a movement which depends on how the vaccine is available. And this is what I think the government needs to pay attention to where the presence of vaccines will boost consumption expectations," he said.

"This is what I think from there. If we observe the growth, say 50 percent vaccine, there will be quite significant economic growth, which is around 3-37 percent," he added.

"And if for example, we can boost up to the existence of 3-5 vaccines it could reach 4 percent as an achievement. And this assumes that human movement and expectations of consumption will be significant," Agus said.

Furthermore, Agus Eko Nugroho also conveyed that efforts to maintain economic stability during a pandemic require public compliance with health protocols.

Apart from that, an economic stimulus is also needed to boost household consumption and prevent an increase in the unemployment rate. (voi/ndy)

The Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) Ministry is synergizing with the Indonesian Police's International Relations Division to use the Interpol network to crack down on illegal fishing and other related practices in the country.

"This can strengthen the synergy between the Directorate General of Marine and Fisheries Resources Surveillance (PSDKP) and the Indonesian Police, specifically the International Relations Division," Director General of PSDKP Tb Haeru Rahayu noted in a statement here on Thursday.

Rahayu affirmed that the two institutions had already worked in close collaboration to crackdown on illegal fishing.

Interpol's I-24/7 is a global communication network known as the Interpol Global Police Communication System (IGCS) that works round the clock and seven days a week, as a medium of information-sharing among Interpol's member countries.

Through this network, the ministry can obtain the latest information on environmental crimes, including the modus of illegal fishing operations and fishing vessels placed on the international wanted list.

"Thank you for giving us access to use the network. We will use it properly to fight against illegal fishing," he stressed.

Head of the International Relations Division Insp. Gen. Johni Asadoma commended the ministry's initiative to use the Interpol network.

Transnational crimes have become the focus of cooperation in the Interpol, Asadoma remarked.

"Cases, such as illegal fishing, have become a concern for the Interpol," he stated. (antaranews)