China's expansion of palm oil imports to boost Indonesia's export values: minister

JAKARTA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- China's pledge to increase crude palm oil (CPO) imports from Indonesia would significantly help boost the latter's export values and raise the price of fresh fruit bunches (FFB), Indonesia's coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment said on Wednesday.

"Thank you very much for China's commitment to add their CPO import volume from Indonesia. This will help us improve the welfare of around 16 million local palm oil farmers here in Indonesia," Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said in a written statement.

The FFB prices among farmers in the world's largest palm oil producing country are currently declining due to stockpiles and oversupply. Data from the Indonesian Palm Oil Association show that the current palm oil stocks in Indonesia have excessively reached 7 million tons.

"We hope China can keep helping Indonesia by increasing our palm oil trade," Luhut said.