Industri sawit masih menguntungkan

Industri sawit masih menguntungkan
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DENPASAR: Industri kelapa sawit Indonesia diperkirakan masih meraup untung pada 2009 kendati harga diproyeksikan terus melorot.Harga crude palm oil (CPO) tahun depan diprediksi mencapai US$475 atau 1.500 ringgit per ton. "Namun, itu masih menguntungkan [industri kelapa sawit]," ujar Ketua Umum Gabungan Pengusaha Kelapa Sawit Indonesia (GAPKI) Akmaluddin Hasibuan di Nusa Dua, Bali, pekan lalu.

Seperti diketahui, dalam Price Outlook 2009 untuk CPO, analis dan pelaku bisnis minyak sawit mentah memperkirakan harga CPO dunia tahun depan berkisar US$350-US$600 per ton, sementara harga rata-rata tahun ini diperkirakan US$600-US$700 per ton.

Akmaluddin menegaskan dengan harga CPO yang cenderung turun pada tahun depan, kinerja industri kelapa sawit nasional tetap mengalami pertumbuhan. Sebab, meski pertumbuhan permintaan melambat, demand dunia masih meningkat."Kalangan pengusaha industri sawit nasional tetap optimis terhadap pasar tahun depan, karena permintaan masih ada dan cenderung meningkat baik untuk pangan maupun energi,"katanya.

Bahkan, lanjutnya, akibat turunnya harga CPO saat ini, menjadi sekitar US$500 per ton dari harga pada Maret dan April 2008 yang mencapai US$1.300 per ton, menimbulkan berkah perluasan pasar CPO."Turunnya harga CPO saat ini menciptakan pasar baru, seperti Rusia yang mulai membeli CPO karena harganya sedang murah," ujar Akmaluddin.

Dia mengatakan persoalan yang dihadapi industri CPO nasional saat ini justru rendahnya produktivitas lahan perkebunan di Indonesia. Produktivitas lahan kelapa sawit di Indonesia hanya menghasilkan 3,8 ton sampai 3,9 ton CPO per hektare untuk perkebunan besar, sedangkan perkebunan kecil, produktivitas 1,5 ton-1,8 ton per hektare."Kami mengharapkan pemerintah meningkatkan bantuan pembiayaan peremajaan lahan perkebunan rakyat. Kalau peremajaan perkebunan besar tidak masalah," ujarnya.

Akmaluddin mengakui peremajaan tanaman sawit di Indonesia sangat lamban dibandingkan dengan Malaysia, yang konsisten dan rutin melakukan peremajaan kebun sawit mereka.Saat ini, pemerintah menyediakan dana untuk peremajaan kebun sebesar 135.000 hektare per tahun dan menyediakan dana sekitar Rp1 triliun untuk revitalisasi perkebunan sawit, cokelat, dan karet.

Ketua Harian GAPKI Derom Bangun peningkatan produktivitas lahan kelapa sawit tidak akan membuat kelebihan produksi CPO dunia yang akan membuat harga turun pada masa mendatang, karena permintaan CPO terus meningkat setiap tahun sekitar 7 juta ton."Permintaan CPO akan terus meningkat seiring dengan pertambahan penduduk dunia yang membutuhkan pangan dan energi." (aprika.hernanda@ bisnis.co.id)Oleh Aprika R.HernandaBisnis Indonesia
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bisnis.com

KUALA LUMPUR: Global markets took another beating Thursday, with shares in Japan plummeting more than 11% as investors continued to dump shares amid h

KUALA LUMPUR: Global markets took another beating Thursday, with shares in Japan plummeting more than 11% as investors continued to dump shares amid heightening fears the global economy is sinking into a recession.
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso was quoted as telling Japanese lawmakers that the US government’s US$700bil banking rescue plan was “insufficient” and that was why “the market is again falling sharply.’’
Sentiment in Asia and Europe was gutted by the 7.9% dive on the Dow Jones Industrial Index on Wednesday on fears the US economy was headed for a recession after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the US economy faced a “significant threat” from credit markets.
Crude oil dropped US$4.09 to settle at US$74.54 on Wednesday, the lowest closing level since Aug 31, 2007 as fears of a sharp fall in demand took grip.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 plummeted 11.4% to 8,458.45 points yesterday, the index’s steepest one-day loss since 1987.
European markets slumped 2% to 3% in early trade.
In South Korea, the main Kospi index plunged 9.4% after rating agency Standard & Poor’s warned that Korean banks might struggle to refinance their debts.
Stock markets in Hong Kong, China and Singapore fell between 4.2% and 5.2%, while in Australia, share prices tumbled 6.7%.
On Bursa Malaysia, the KL Composite Index fell 29.86 points, or 3.1% to 920 points.
Shares in oil and gas fabricator KNM Group Bhd again dominated trade on Bursa Malaysia, with 342 million shares transacted.
The counter alone accounted for about 38% of total market volume of 897 million shares yesterday. (See report on B3)
The ringgit, meanwhile, slumped to a new 21-month low at 3.5265 against the US dollar.
OSK Research has lowered its year-end target for the KL Composite Index (KLCI) for a second time in a month, citing “worsening global economic outlook and falling commodity prices.’’
The firm slashed its year-end target for the KLCI to 1,037 points from 1,128 points and to just 1,116 points for 2009.
“With sentiment badly beaten as it is, even the easing political uncertainties and the unveiling of a domestic ‘stabilisation’ plan may not be enough to significantly lift our market,’’ OSK said.
The Government is expected to announce on Monday details of its stabilisation plan, which would contain measures to help the economy withstand the global financial crisis.
The financial crisis and its crippling impact on the global economy had already ravaged commodity markets, with crude oil, crude palm oil (CPO) and steel prices plunging from record highs just months before.
CPO third month futures contract traded on Bursa Derivatives, the global benchmark for the vegetable oil, tumbled 5.3% to a new two-year low of RM1,651 per tonne yesterday.
CIMB Research noted that steel product prices had fallen 30% to 50% from their peak in July.
“In a nutshell, the landscape for the steel industry has changed and is expected to be negative for the next six to 12 months, given the recent downgrades of key demand drivers for the steel,’’ it said.
source: biz.thestar.com.my

The Plant of Oil Palm

The Plant of Oil Palm

The Elaeis guineensis Jacq., or oil palm is a perennial tree, of late and long yield, and it can grow up to 30 meters .
Oil palm plants have bright male and female flowers which bear fruits by the thousands. Its fruits are round, ovoid or elongated in shape which make up compact bunches weighing between 10-40 kgs. Before ripening, palm fruits are dark purple, almost black, and when they become ripe under a tropical sun turn a bright, colorful orangey-red color. Inside each fruit is a single seed, the kernel or palm kernel, protected by a woody endocarp or shell which is surrounded by a fleshy mesocarp or pulp. Both the pulp and kernel produce large quantities of oil. Two types of oil are produced, palm kernel oil from the kernel and the palm oil extracted from the pulp.

The stem of the palm tree is straight and the plant forms the shape of an inverted cone. Young palms have rough, jagged stems. Later older palms have smoother stems but have scars left behind as some 40 leaves wither and fall off, giving the stems a layered and segmented texture.
When the oil palm tree has reached middle age, its leaves lie almost parallel to the ground, between 3- 6 meters long. Each leaf is made up of some 250 linear follicles, which grow out of the sides of its stalk in an irregular pattern. The messy and disorganized appearance of the leaves is a special feature of the oil palm.
The oil palm is a perennial tree, normally lasting more than 50 years. But after 20-30 years, the oil palm is difficult to harvest because of its height. Normally at this stage, plantations are cleared out and replanted.

Plantation work
Cultivating oil palm not only requires the right climate and soil. Obtaining maximum yields at each production stage also depends on the quality of seeds used, a rigorous selection process of seedlings in the nursery, good soil preparation before seeds are planted, the setting up of plantations correctly and the right use of fertilizers.
Oil palm plantations require intensive labor and much care. Palm trees need to be protected and nurtured carefully so that they grow, develop and reach their maximum yields as quickly as possible. Good plantation management also involves protecting the oil palm throughout its life span and ensuring that other crops do not take away the water, light and soil nutrients it needs. The oil palm also needs to be protected against pests and diseases and requires the right amount of water and nutrients when necessary. Finally, it is important that leaves and bunches are cut carefully so as not to damage the plant.
A varied labor force with different levels of expertise and experience work on oil palm plantations. The way fruits are harvested, transported and processed all affect the quality of oil produced in the end.
The design of a plantation, including the lay out of its lots, paths and canals and the site of a palm oil mill, all play an important role in oil palm cultivation, including how fruits are harvested and transported to the mill.

The Oil Extraction Process
Oil palm fruit are processed at a palm oil mill. Here oil is extracted in crude form, both from the palm kernel and fruit.
This process involves first sterilizing the fruit bunches, picking fruit off the bunches, macerating the fruit from which pulp oil is extracted and then finally recovering the palm kernel from the remaining chaff. Palm oil kernels produce two types of oil – palm kernel oil and palm kernel meal - the latter being an important ingredient in animal food.
Plantations need to be located near mills because once bunches are cut off a tree, the fruits can perish quickly. Each plantation or group of plantations, including the mill and facilities were fruits are processed, form the heart of oil palm production.
Apart from Africa , where palm oil is normally consumed in its crude form, palm oil goes through a refining process. This involves cooling, bleaching and deodorizing it. Sometimes palm oil is sold in this refined form, but usually consumers buy palm oil already mixed with other vegetable oils.After fractionining palm oil, two products are obtained: olein and stearin fractions. In warm climates, olein fraction is liquid and can be mixed with any type of vegetable oil. In comparison, stearin fraction is more solid and is used to produce fats, mainly margarines and soaps. The particular properties of olein and stearin fractions account for their versatile nature, allowing them to be used in a variety of ways

The Oil Palm

The Oil Palm
The oil palm tree is a tropical plant which commonly grows in warm climates at altitudes of less than 1,600 feet above sea level. There is one species, the Noli or Elaeis oleifera (H.B.K) Cortes which is native of America; another species is Elaeis guineensis Jacq. which originates from the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa (hence its scientific name) and better known as the African oil palm.

This tree produces one of the most popular edible oils in the world – a versatile oil of superb nutritional value. It is the most prolific of all oil plants and in commercial terms the one which offers major prospects of development.

Oil palm is normally monoic; in other words, it has both male and female flowers on the same tree. It produces thousands of fruits, in compact bunches whose weight varies between 10 and 40 kilograms. Each fruit is almost spherical, ovoid or elongated in shape. Generally the fruit is dark purple, almost black before it ripens and orange red when ripe.

Some 40 leaves crown the stately column of the oil palm and as it reaches middle age its leaves spread out - between 10 and 25 feet in length – and almost parallel to the ground. Each leaf has short thorns at its base and about 250 leaflets in an irregular pattern on both sides of the petiole. Thus, these leaflets are not continuous like the tines of a feather. In fact, the irregular appearance of the frond is one of the characteristic features of this species.

The fruit has a single seed – the palm kernel – protected by a wooden endocarp or shell, surrounded by a fleshy mesocarp or pulp. This fruit produces two types of oil: one extracted from the pulp (palm oil) and the other from the kernel (palm kernel oil).

Its stem stands straight in the form of an inverted cone. In the wild it may grow to heights of one hundred feet and more. The stems of young and adult plants are wrapped in leaves which give them a rather rough appearance. The older trees have smooth stems apart from the scars left by the leaves which have withered and fallen off.

Primary roots grow downwards from the base of the palm and radiate outwards in a more or less horizontal direction close to the surface of the ground. Their length and depth depend on the type of soil.