Indonesia Targets to Export Palm Shell Biomass Products to Japan

VIVA – The Ministry of Industry targets to expand the export market for the palm oil processing industry, such as shipping palm shell biomass products to Japan. This palm shell product from Indonesia is popular in Japanese market for its environmentally friendly and sustainable primary energy source.

On the Kemenperin.go.id website, the Director General of Resilience, Territorial, and International Industrial Access (KPAII) of the Ministry of Industry, Eko SA Cahyanto, explained, the government supports the entry of investment in the downstream industrial sector processing palm shells into renewable fuels.

"We also support the entry of investment in the downstream industrial sector processing palm shells into renewable fuels with high calorific value after these commodities are processed into biomass pellet industry products with higher energy density," Eko SA Cahyanto remarked in Jakarta, Thursday, September 29, 2022.

Palm shells are potential biomass that can be processed into downstream products. In Indonesia, the potential for palm shell production reaches 11 million tons for each year, but around 3.5 million tons are still exported per year in the form of semi-finished commodities.

As form of responsibility for fostering the palm oil biomass processing industry sector, the Ministry of Industry through the facilitation of the Industrial Attache at the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo initiated a business forum in Tokyo.

This activity brings together palm shell business actors who are members of the Indonesian Palm Oil Shell Entrepreneurs Association (APCASI) with the Japan Biomass Power Association (BPA).

Indonesia – Japan Business Forum on Sustainable Palm Oil Biomass Industry, held on September 26, 2022 in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry, ITPC Osaka, Trade Attaché, and Industrial Attache at the Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo.

This business forum has purpose to promote the sustainability aspect of palm shell products from Indonesia, and is an opportunity for investment to enter the Biomass advanced processing industry in Indonesia.

The export market for palm shell biomass products from Indonesia is expected to develop and support the national palm oil industry downstream program.

In addition, this activity was attended by potential investors and existing buyers of palm shells from Japan. So, it is a strategic step to strengthen economic ties for the two countries and bring benefits to the country's foreign exchange earnings in order to support the national economic recovery in the post-covid-19 era.