JAKARTA, May 4, 2005 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Indonesia risks losing atleast 15 percent of its crude palm oil (CPO) production within five yearsif it fails to address the problem of inferior oil palm seedlings, theIndonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (GAPKI) has said.

"By having inferior oil palms, output will remain low over the next 25years," GAPLI Chairman Derom Bangun was quoted Wednesday by The JakartaPost as saying.

Top-quality seedlings can produce up to 4 tons of crude palm oil perhectare after three years, compared to between 1.5 and 2 tons per hectarefor inferior seedlings, he said.

Indonesia, the world's second largest palm oil exporter after Malaysia,produced an estimated 12 million tons of CPO last year. GAPKI expected thetotal output to reach 13.6 million tons this year on the assumption thatthe inferior seedlings would not affect national production.

Derom said the greatest risk came from small plantations, whose ownerswere more likely to buy the cheaper inferior seedlings due to a lack ofknowledge and money.

Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture Anton Apriyantono said the governmentwas encouraging plantation firms to develop and produce more high-qualityseedlings and certify them.

This certification, he said, would help small growers differentiatebetween inferior and quality seedlings, which have little physicaldifference.

"We estimate that 400,000 hectares of the country's total oil palmplantation area, particularly those areas owned by small holders, areplanted with inferior seedlings," Derom said.

Oil palm plantations need replanting every 25 years.

"After five years, may be all the small plantations will be using inferiorseedlings. Then we can expect a 15 percent drop in CPO production," hesaid.

Indonesia exported 8.66 million tons of CPO last year, up about a thirdfrom the previous year's 6.39 million tons, according to data from theCentral Statistic Agency.

Palm oil is the raw material for, among other things, cooking oil, soapand detergent.