Indonesia to use one million African weevils to spur palm output
27/03/2025 (The Business Times), Jakarta - Indonesia is betting on tiny bugs from Africa to help boost its palm oil production, as the broader sector grapples with tightening supply that threatens to keep prices elevated and add to food inflation.
The world’s top grower is planning to introduce around one million of the weevils at some plantations this year to improve pollination and fruit development. Three species collected from Tanzania are expected to arrive at a facility in North Sumatra next month for a series of tests before they are released.
The hope is that the African weevils will help revive production growth after years of stalling output, which stems from old trees that some growers are reluctant to replant due to the extended time it takes for them to fruit. Constrained supply, including from the second-biggest producer, Malaysia, has contributed to palm relinquishing its status as the world’s cheapest vegetable oil to soyoil.
Adding to the problem: Indonesia now wants to expand its biofuel programme, meaning more palm oil will be diverted to local supply rather than used for export. That’s put the insect initiative at a crucial time.
‘Fresh batch’
Indonesia and Malaysia’s palm industries have ballooned over recent decades, often at the cost of large swathes of native jungle and forests. The two now account for around 85 per cent of the global supply of the most widely used vegetable oil, which can be found in products from chocolate to cosmetics and biofuel.
Palm oil is native to Africa, making the Tanzanian bugs well suited for the role, and an insect release has been successful in the past. Weevils were introduced during the 1980s to plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, leading to significant improvement in production rates.