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Indonesia Pushes Palm to Capture Green Fuel Pie |
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Written by Robert
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Thursday, 01 September 2005 |
from Planet Ark and Reuters ...
INTERVIEW - Indonesia Pushes Palm to
Capture Green Fuel
Pie
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INDONESIA:
August 23, 2005
JAKARTA - Indonesia will proceed with plans to
sharply boost palm oil output
over the next three years to quench the thirst
of bio-fuel makers, despite
opposition from environmental groups, the
agriculture minister said on
Monday.
Anton Apriyantono added that
Indonesia would aim to sharply cut sugar
imports in 2006 following a bumper
domestic sugarcane harvest. Jakarta is
also studying the benefits of growing
genetically modified crops.
"We will consider incentives for the palm oil
sector and of course the
environment will be our priority," he told Reuters
in an interview. "We will
have to boost output. Not only do we expect
increased demand for food but we
also expect a huge market for bio-energy to
open up."
He did not specify what incentives the government was
considering for the
sector.
Apriyantono said Indonesia, the
second-largest producer and exporter of palm
oil, after Malaysia, would aim
to boost the crop area under palm plantations
to 8 million hectares in the
next three years from the current 5 million.
Indonesia produced 12
million tonnes crude palm oil in 2004. Area under palm
oil in Indonesia has
doubled since 1999.
Plans by Indonesia to boost output come at a time
when environmentalists are
blaming the latest forest fires, and the haze that
followed, on palm
plantations. Critics say workers light the fires to clear
land, an illegal
practice they say has been largely overlooked by the
government.
In addition, Indonesia is considering setting up the world's
biggest palm
plantation -- covering an area of 1.8 million hectares -- in
Kalimantan,
along the border with Malaysia.
Bio-fuels are taking on
renewed global importance as countries seek to cut
hazardous emissions. Palm
oil's emergence in the market comes decades after
the introduction of
ethanol, made from sugarcane, and other additives.
Story by Sambit
Mohanty
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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Last Updated ( Monday, 05 September 2005 )
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