Batulicin, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) - Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman said that PT Jhonlin Agro Raya (JAR) Tbk in Tanah Bumbu District, South Kalimantan Province, is a pioneer in implementing B50 or a mixture of diesel and palm oil that has been converted into biodiesel.
"PT JAR is the first company that makes a history in implementing B50 in Indonesia," said the Minister when leading a trial and soft launching of the use of B50 biodiesel at PT JAR's factory in Batulicin, Tanah Bumbu, Sunday.
With this B50 implementation, he said, Indonesia ready to become the world's energy source, especially biodiesel.
B50 implementation is part of the government's effort to realize national energy independence and green energy.
Currently, Indonesia controls 58 percent of world CPO production. It is a power that if utilized properly has better economic and politcal impacts.
"If this implementation is carried out well, it is possible that world oil price will fall and the price of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) produced from palm oil will rise," said Andi Amran Sulaiman.
He expounded that the use of biodisel can save the country's foreign exchange on diesel import which burden state finances of IDR300-400 trillion on average per year.
On the other hand, the use of palm oil for B50 is an effort to reduce independence on palm oil export market which frequently faces negative campaign and various requirements that disrupt national palm oil export.
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"So it is clear that our target is to prepare for the implementation of B50 biodisel. This soft launching activity will be a historical record as a pioneer in the implementation of B50 in the country," said the Minister.
President Director of Eshan Agro Sentosa (EAS) Group Bambang A Wisena said that his partya was quite optimistic about the government's biodisel policy in the future.
This policy is expected to be a breath of fresh air for the progress of national palm oil industry. However, he said, the technical, policy, commercial, and environment aspects need to be prepared so that the B50 policy runs smoothly.
"We believe that the need for palm oil-based biodisel is very large, especially for domestic consumption to achieve national energy security," said Bambang.
Based on the statistical data from the Directorate General of Plantation, in 2023 the area of oil palm land in Indonesia reached 16.8 million hectares with a production of 46.9 million tons.
Governor Sahbirin Noor said that South Kalimantan was the first region to implement B50.
"The government continues to strive to realize national energy independence, one of which is by accelerating the implementation of B50 biodisel development. It cannot be denied that biodiesel can be relied to be an alternative to replace fossil fuels," he said.
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