Jakarta, May 7 (Dow Jones) - Indonesia's government and private industryhave jointly formed a commission to help generate reliable data on thecountry's palm oil industry as well lay the foundation for a palm oil boardexpected to begin operations in the next six months, the chairwoman of theIndonesian Palm Oil Commission said late Tuesday.Speaking at the launch of the commission, Delima Hasri Azahari said sheexpects the body to help lend some certainty to the palm oil market.Delima said there is a lack of reliable data on palm oil in the areasofdomestic production, consumption, exports and stocks. "We will startcollecting and releasing official data in the future."She said the newly formed commission is made up of 20 governmentofficialsand members of palm oil associations. It will report to the Minister ofAgriculture.Delima said palm oil associations represented in the commission includethe Indonesian Palm Oil Producers' Association, or Gapki, the Palm OilGrowers' Association, the Edible Oil Association of Indonesia and the OilPalmResearch Institute.The government is also planning to set up a palm oil board in the nextsixmonths, she said.In Malaysia, the largest producer and exporter of palm oil in theworld,the state-run Malaysian Palm Oil Board acts as the central agencyspearheadingthe development of the industry as well as disseminating information onproduction, exports and stocks.Indonesia, the second largest producer of palm oil, is a closecompetitorto Malaysia and is fast catching up because of abundant availability oflandand cheap labor.Indonesia's palm oil output is expected to reach 9.6 million tons in2003,up from around 9 million tons last year, according to data from Gapki.Malaysia produced 11.9 million tons of crude palm oil last year.