REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANJARMASIN – The US threats to ban Crude Palm Oil (CPO) import from Indonesia causes anxiety in South Kalimantan’s farmers. The Head of Resources in Plantation South Kalimantan Provincial Government, Soeyono A Mukti, concerns that the threat could impact the CPO price in his region.

“We hope the government gives the right answer to CPO importer countries,” he said on Tuesday.

According to Soeyono, the national CPO production is 22 million tonnes, while the domestic needs are only 6 million tonnes. Should the CPO importer countries, especially in the US, ban the import, the palm farmers would be in trouble. Moreover, South Kalimantan is now developing the palm and rubber plantation to boost the people’s prosperity.

“If the Indonesian CPO was banned, automatically South Kalimantan as the CPO producer would suffer the impact,” he said.

South Kalimantan is reserving 585,084 hectare area for palm plantation and 473,000 of it is marsh. Only 65 percent of the total area has been cultivated. It is located in all the region of South Kalimantan, excluding Banjarmasin and Banjarbaru. “Palm can grow everywhere, whether in land or in water. Thus, it can also grow in marsh,” he added. 

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