REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Some 35 other palm oil companies received the Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certificates on Wednesday.

With this inclusion, the total number of palm oil companies having received ISPO certificates now reaches 184.

"ISPO is a standard we have agreed upon to ensure greater credibility, respect, and international acceptance," Senior Economic Affairs Minister Darmin Nasution stated while handing over the certificates to the 35 companies.

The coordinating minister for economic affairs said he had accepted a proposal to upgrade the legality of the certificate to strengthen the policy, and it would be better if it were to be supported by an institution.

Nasution expressed hope that the ISPO certificates would convince export destination countries that crude palm oil in Indonesia was produced through sustainable and environment-friendly processes.

Seconding Darmin's view, Gamal Nasir, the director general of plantations of the Ministry of Agriculture, affirmed that Indonesia had shown keen interest to develop and strengthen its palm oil industry, and it now controlled more than 50 percent of the global market.

In view of this, he said all stakeholders --- private or public industries as well as non-governmental organizations --- had to coordinate to increase the legality of ISPO to boost its credibility.

"Based on inputs from seminars and FGD, we have proposed to upgrade the status of ISPO from merely being based on a ministerial regulation to a presidential regulation," Gamal, who is also the chairman of the ISPO Commission, pointed out.

He added that until the end of this year, some 200 palm oil companies in the country were expected to receive the certificate to demonstrate that their production processes focused on maintaining a balance in nature and took into account the socioeconomic conditions of the community.

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