Indonesia adds palm oil to the government's online tracking system

Senior minister Luhut Paandjaitan announced on Wednesday that the Indonesian government plans to add palm oil to its online tracking system to improve accountability.

Indonesia is the largest palm oil producer and exporter in the world.

In 2022, the online system SIMBARA was implemented for the first time to track coal movements. The government began tracking domestic shipments for nickel and tin using SIMBARA this year.

Indonesia has committed to improving the governance of palm oil industry in order to ensure compliance with taxes, land permits, and other rules as well as better monitoring the latest conditions.

Luhut, a member of the Palm Oil Farmers Association, told a conference that the government hopes to increase revenue by digitally tracking the supply chain for palm oil.

According to him, the government's coal revenue increased by 40% following SIMBARA's implementation.

Luhut didn't elaborate when palm oil would be included in SIMBARA but said that the president-elect Prabowo, who will assume office on October 20, is expected issue "firm instructions" regarding this issue.

Indonesia issued regulations in 2020 to determine the legality and legitimacy of plantations that operate in areas which are supposed to be forest, with the aim to improve governance in this sector. (Reporting and editing by Emelia Sithole Matarise; Dewi Kurniawati)

(source: Reuters)