INDONESIA: Indomie Factory in Nigeria Favors Cheaper Malaysian Palm Oil

Posted by Asia Views | Aug 28, 2024 | 0 |

JakartaGlobe-Aug 28

Indonesia is among the world’s largest palm oil producers, but it still somewhat struggles to compete with its close neighbor Malaysia, according to palm oil industry association Gapki. Eddy Martono, the chairman of Gapki, talked of his recent trip to Nigeria. He visited the local factory belonging to Indonesian instant noodle giant Indomie. But it turns out that the factory favors purchasing Malaysian palm oil as it is a cheaper option compared to that of Indonesia. “I have just returned from Nigeria and I asked from which country did the local Indomie [factory] buy their palm oil from? They said they bought Malaysian [palm oil]. … And that’s because Indonesian palm oil is expensive,” Eddy told a conference in Belitung on Tuesday evening. Eddy said this was ironic as Indonesia produced 33 percent of the global palm oil. While Malaysia’s palm oil output is lower, the neighboring country can access markets untapped by Indonesia thanks to its more competitive price. Gapki attributed the expensive Indonesian palm oil to the costs that businesses had to bear. Indonesian palm oil businesses are now nudging the government to impose fiscal incentives to make prices more competitive. Businesses today have to pay around $138 per metric ton before it can export palm oil. The costs include export levy, export duty as well as a domestic market obligation that stands at around $20 per metric ton, according to Eddy. “Exports are on the decline in terms of volume. Why? Sunflower has lower productivity compared to palm oil, but it is cheaper. Why? It’s because of the oversupply,” Eddy said. The Finance Ministry reported that the government had disbursed trillions of rupiahs to incentivize the palm oil sector. Throughout 2023, the biodiesel incentives stood at Rp 18.5 trillion (almost $1.2 billion). The Finance Ministry also rolled out Rp 1.7 trillion for palm oil plantation rejuvenation program, and another Rp 100 billion went to research. The Finance Ministry also spent Rp 500 billion in other incentives related to the palm oil sector.

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

INDONESIA: Indomie Factory in Nigeria Favors Cheaper Malaysian Palm Oil

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