JAKARTA, SAWIT INDONESIA – Chairman of GAPKI, Joko Supriyono will be speaking about the development of Indonesian oil palm industry in an official forum in the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York, United States, September 6th 2017.
“In addition to speaking in a formal capacity at the UN, we will also conduct a number of informal meetings with stakeholders during the visit to the United States,” said Joko Supriyono in his press statement, Saturday (1/9/2017).
In the forum, Joko Supriyono is scheduled to explain about the oil palm industry’s stance and position on sustainability issues and its position as a strategic commodity in Indonesia.
GAPKI’s attendance (Indonesian Palm Oil Association) in a high-level meeting at the UN is at the invitation of UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) who initiated the discussion on sustainability issues in a number of economic sectors in developing countries.
In addition to GAPKI, the UNDP also invited representatives of the government of the Republic of Indonesia to the forum. Furthermore, there will also be representatives of the government and business sector in Brazil and Liberia.
Joko said, with a contribution reaching USD 18.5 billion of foreign exchange (around Rp 240 trillion), oil palm is a strategic sector in Indonesia. Moreover, the oil palm sector has absorbed more than 5 million workers and boosted economic growth in the periphery regions.
“We agreed that the management of oil palm plantations should be sustainable. This is where we sit together, at the UN, to talk about the sustainability of oil palm sector that we want to achieve together,” said Joko.
Regarding the land fires, Joko confirmed that a very proper coordination has been carried out by the government and the world throughout the year. As a result, there are no longer reports of hotspots in the companies’ concessions. “In fact, all members of GAPKI have helped the government to extinguish fire outside the companies’ concessions,” he said.
So far, the European Union countries and the United States highlight the management of oil palm plantations in Indonesia. Nevertheless, palm oil demands from both regions continue to increase. In the first semester of 2017, exports to the EU reached 2.7 million tons, a 42% increase compared to the same period of the previous year, which was 1.9 million tons.
Source : https://sawitindonesia.com
