28/09/2005 (The Star) - INDONESIA is in the midst of converting itsnational palm oil commission into a full-fledged palm oil board similar tothe Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB).

Indonesian Palm Producers Association (GAPKI) chairman Derom Bangun said ameeting was held last month in Jakarta to discuss the formation of the newboard, including its structure and member components.

Derom Bangun

"Once operational, we hope this new board will be able to oversee thewhole aspect of the rapidly growing oil palm plantation sector inIndonesia," Derom told StarBiz at the ongoing MPOB PIPOC 2005 conference.

He said, to date, Indonesia plantation players did not have a dedicatedcoordinating body to look into increasing external pressure brought aboutby environmental, marketing, trade and social issues.

Derom, however, declined to comment on the timeframe for the new board tocommence operations.

He said the board, at a later stage, would also incorporate a researchunit similar to that of MPOB.

Currently, the republic’s oil palm research is carried out by IndonesiaPalm Research Institute (PPKS) based in Medan.

Malaysia and Indonesia together produce 80% of the world's palm oil.

Derom said Malaysia was targeted to produce 14.9 million tonnes this year,followed by Indonesia at 13.6 million tonnes.