JAKARTA, May 16 Asia Pulse - The agriculture ministry of Indonesia has seta deadline for all crude palm oil factories to have oil palm plantationsin three years, or they will be punished with fines or face criminalcharges.Provincial administrations have been asked to outline CPO processingcompanies that don't own plantations, Plantation Production DirectorGeneral Subagyono said last weekend.

Many CPO factories have been built with licenses from provincialadministrations contradicting the policy of the Central Government.

The government allows the building of CPO factories on condition they haveoil palm plantations to feed them with the oil palm fruit raw material.This is to prevent farmers from breaching supply contracts with palm oilcompanies.

Some palm oil companies need supplies of fruits from farmers as theirplantations have not started yielding fruits or their fruit production isnot sufficient to feed their factories.

Some CPO factories not having plantations have also been accused of buyingstolen fruits.(ANTARA)