Production has started at Indonesia’s first red cooking oil facility, the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) reported.
Officially opened by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the plant in North Sumatra was one of several red cooking oil plants that would be developed by the government in other locations in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi, the 15 March report said.
The pilot plant at Pagar Merbau in Deli Serdang has a production capacity of 10 tonnes/day of crude palm oil (CPO), resulting in approximately 7 tonnes/day of red cooking oil.
The initiative was part of the government programme to push the downstreaming process in the palm oil industry generally, not only among palm oil companies, but also among smallholders, the report said.
Indonesia has more than 16M ha of oil palm plantations, of which 40.5% or 6.2M ha are owned by smallholders.
The processing plant would help smallholders maximise the added value of fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) from their palm plantations, Widodo said.
”We hope this will create added value for our smallholders, especially those already grouped in cooperatives. And this will also help stabilise prices,” he said.
In addition, Widodo, who is also known as Jokowi, said that the plant’s opening was part of an effort to add value to commodities through the processing of finished products.
Widodo said he was confident that the production of red cooking oil would enhance the competitiveness of local palm oil products as it provided a more affordable alternative.
Red cooking oil also had health benefits, he added, highlighting its high levels of Vitamin A and Vitamin E.