20/12/2011 (Jakarta Post) - Hindoli, a plantation unit of palm oil company Cargill Tropical Palm Holdings, aims to increase palm oil production by 20 percent for the fiscal year of 2011-2012 through intensification and expansion of its plantations.

Anthony Yeow, president director of Hindoli, said production at Hindoli’s South Sumatra plantation may rise to 30 tons per hectare in the period of June 2011 to May 2012, up from 25 tons in 2011.

“Even though most of our palm oil was planted in 1991, this year the plantation still managed to produce 25 tons per hectare,” Anthony said. “With intensification, we’re looking to boost that productivity to 30 tons.”

Hindoli, which was acquired by Cargill in 1995, is in the process of expanding its plantations. It has 16,000 hectares and another 17,600 hectares of smallholder plantations (plasma), with an annual output of 150,000 tons.

“We’re expanding in Mukut, South Sumatra. We’re adding 9,000 hectares of plantations and 2,400 in smallholder plantations,” said Anthony, who expects the expansion to be completed by March of next year. “We’ll also replant 6,800 hectares of plantation in the next two or three years.”

John Hartmann, Cargill’s chief operating officer, said he expects prices to remain strong next year due to high demand, and that the industry’s main challenges will still revolve around issues of sustainable production and increasing yield.

“There’s growing concern on the need to preserve high conservation value areas,” he said. “The orangutans also get a lot of attention, as does the issue with sustainability of the indigenous people around the plantations.”