VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The palm oil industry needs to formulate a new strategy in order to face the challenges to business created by the COVID-19 pandemic, chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki), Joko Supriyono, said.

The imposition of lockdowns in many European and Asian countries has affected exports of palm oil, he said at the opening of the Indonesian Palm Oil Conference (IPOC) 2020 here on Wednesday.

“But, in the fourth quarter of 2020, the world market has improved, marked by the increased demand from several export destination countries and the increasing trend in palm oil prices," he noted.

IPOC, he continued, will serve as a forum for the palm oil industry to discuss and analyze the global palm oil market in 2021.

Supriyono said the government has remained consistent in the implementation of the program to make B-30 mixed-biodiesel mandatory, despite the declining trend in palm oil exports due to the pandemic.

The policy is aimed at stabilizing domestic palm oil consumption, he explained.

“The palm oil industry will continue to support the government program to ensure the continuation of the biodiesel mandatory program, and to ensure that we can manage a 100-percent recovery in the domestic market," he said. (Antaranews)