Jakarta, Feb 22 (Antara) - A packaged food product bearing the anti-crude palm oil (CPO) labeling has entered the domestic market of Indonesia, the world's largest producer of CPO.
The imported product, with the "Palm Oil Free" (POF) label, has gained entry into the country at a time when Indonesia is developing its CPO as a strategic commodity.
Besides using it as a raw material for food items, Indonesia is also developing CPO as raw material for fuels, such as in its biofuel mix program in diesel fuel (now 20 percent), called B20.
It is even planning to develop a green economic zone as a CPO derivative production center, targeting to produce CPO-based jet-aircraft fuel whose added value and environmental impact are better than those of aviation turbine (avtur).
"This is a serious blow to the national palm oil industry in Indonesia where some 43 percent of the country's palm oil plantations are owned by local farmers. Farmers also produce some 30 percent of the CPO," Secretary General of the Indonesian Palm Oil Business Association (Gapki) Togar Sitanggang stated on Friday, last week, while referring to the entry of the anti-CPO commodity into Indonesia.
Currently, there are some four million families who are directly involved in the palm oil industry. If a family has some four to five members, then some 16 million to 20 million people depend on palm oil plantations and the industry for their livelihood.
Togar said his side had found a packaged snack product bearing the POF label being sold in the Ranch Market, Lotte Avenue, and Oakwood in Kuningan, Jakarta. The products were imported from Italy.
Director general for internal trade Srie Agustina of the Ministry of Trade remarked that the POF labeling indirectly discredited palm oil production. It constituted a covert negative campaign against palm oil products.
"We will check it on the field," she affirmed.
In Europe, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), since the past couple of years, have been aggressively launching black campaigns against CPO based goods.
According to director general of National Export Development Nus Nuzulia, NGOs have used different forms of black campaigns.
"The black campaigns are launched by NGOs in Belgium, France, and Italy" Nuzulia was quoted as saying by detikFinance online media in March 2014.
She revealed that NGOs in the three countries have accused Indonesian palm oil commodities of causing damage to the environment and posing health risks.
Several products, with the anti-CPO labeling, such as "No Palm Oil", "Zero Percent Palm Oil", and "POF" are being sold in European supermarkets.
Now, a packaged food product, with the POF label, has been circulated in Indonesian supermarkets.
House of Representatives' (DPR's) Commission IV Deputy Chairman on Food Affairs Viva Yoga Mauladi stated on Friday (Feb. 19, 2016) that the POF labeling was a form of anti-palm oil campaign launched by the European Union and the United States.
Therefore, Commission IV has called on the Trade Ministry to withdraw the imported POF labeled products from the market.
After all, Viva remarked that the Indonesian government was developing the palm oil-based commodity as a strategic commodity.
The presence of POF labeled goods in the outlets of Ranch Market in Jakarta was a testament to the fact that the trade ministry has been unaware of it, and the product has entered the country beyond its control, he pointed out.
The Gapki has also urged the government to pull out the imported POF labeled snack product from the domestic market.
"We have sent a letter to Trade Minister Thomas Lembong to express our regret over the entry of products with POF labeling into Indonesia. We have urged that the products be withdrawn from the market," Sitanggang emphasized.
He said that the import of POF labeled products was counterproductive to the government's efforts to popularize Indonesia's eco-friendly palm oil abroad.
Moreover, Indonesia is planning to develop a green economic zone as a CPO derivative production center.
"Constraints faced overseas are also increasing. So, we are aware that we should develop a CPO downstream area in a green economic zone. We are inviting investors to do business in it, including private investors," he noted.
The green economic zone is also designed to produce jet-aircraft fuel whose added value and environmental impact are better than those of aviation turbine (avtur).
"In the world, there are 11 international airlines which use fuel from vegetable, but it is not CPO. This technology has been developed by only two countries in the world. That is the reason why we invite private companies to invest there," Chief Minister for Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli said Friday.
Besides having high eco-friendly value, the project also claims to reduce premium gasoline imports.
"So, this is the second generation of vegetable fuel production, where it could be mixed with premium gasoline that could save on premium imports. Its value is 15 times that of avtur. We hope we will become the main jet fuel exporter in the coming five to seven years," he said.
The Coordinating minister for maritime affairs noted that he will soon decide on a location for the development of a green economic zone as a crude palm oil (CPO) derivative production center.
"We will decide the location of the green economic zone before the second quarter of 2016," Rizal noted during his visit to the office of the Indonesian National News Agency Antara here on Friday.
There are three location options for the development of the green economic zone center, he remarked while mentioning Sei Mangkei in North Sumatra, Dumai in Riau and Bontang in East Kalimantan.
"The relevant ministries will discuss the locations later," he stated.
The development of the green economic zone is one of Rizal's programs in line with the establishment of the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) which was jointly initiated with Malaysia.
The green economic zone will specifically host eco-friendly downstream palm oil industries.
"If realized, it will become the first green economic zone in the world which specifically produces CPO derivative products," he noted.**3***(a014/INE/o001)
EDITED BY INE(T.A014/A/BESSR/O. Tamindael) 22-02-2016 14:39:4 |
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar