10/04/2017 (Tempo.co Online) - Palembang - South Sumatra province has set a target to produce 3.4 million tons of palm oil this year.

Last year, the province produced up 400,000 tons of palm oil.

Chairman of the South Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Association of Oil Palm Companies (Gapki) Harry Hartanto said with that production, the province could maintain its contribution at 10 percent to the country's total production of crude palm oil (CPO).

"Gapki has set a high target this year with the expansion of plantations amid favorable climate," Harry said on Friday.

There is no weather phenomenon El Nino expected this year, he said, adding, El Nino causes long drought which would result in a decline in palm oil production.

South Sumatra has around 1.3 million hectares of oil palm plantations of which 50 percent owned by farmers, and the rest owned by state plantation companies and private companies.