11/01/2012 (Borneo Post) - Indonesia’s plantation commodity exports are predicted to increase by up to US$8.4 billion to US$35.72 billion last year from US$27.35 billion the year before, Antara news agency reported.

“The increase was fuelled by higher commodity prices in the international market,” director general of Plantation at the Agriculture Ministry Gamal Nasir said here earlier.

He said at least five commodities were listed as the biggest foreign exchange earners.

They were palm oil, cocoa, rubber, coconut and copra, and coffee.

Palm oil was predicted to contribute US$19.05 billion to the country’s foreign exchange earnings from plantation commodities, followed by rubber US$12.4 billion, cocoa US$1.284 billion, coconut and copra US$1.198 billion, coffee US$1.09 billion.

By volume, the country’s plantation commodity exports were predicted to fall to 24.5 million tonnes in 2011 from 25.6 million tonnnes in 2010, he said.

Until the third quarter of 2011, plantation commodity exports reached 18.4 million tonnes, he said.

He expressed hope that the global market for plantation commodities in 2011 would remain unchanged this year.

The increase in the value of plantation commodity exports was also the result of restructuring programme aimed at increasing production, productivity and quality of plantation commodities, he said. — Bernama