Antara News·Indonesia·Thursday, August 27, 2026 at 07:16 AM

Indonesia eyes deeper cocoa, palm value chain ties with Malaysia, PNG

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Aria Ananda, Nabil Ihsan

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia is exploring new cooperation potentials with Malaysia and Papua New Guinea to strengthen the value chain of sustainable cocoa and palm products.

According to Coordinating Ministry for Food Affairs official Nani Hendiarti, the Regional Learning Forum on Sustainable Commodities on August 27–28 serves as a platform to identify best practices to be developed together.

"Follow-up cooperation proposals may arise during the discussion that will take place in these two days," the deputy for food affordability and security coordination at the ministry said here on Thursday.

Hendiarti explained that the collaboration is vital, as challenges in palm and cocoa development, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and market and value dynamics, are cross-border issues that require collective resolution.

The ministry official highlighted the importance of small farmers’ involvement in the process, given their significant role in producing the two commodities, to ensure that sustainable value chain development benefits the farmers and the wider community.

Cooperation proposals will be developed into concrete policies with the involvement of all related stakeholders, including the government, private enterprises, and small farmers.

Hendiarti said that Indonesia's Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration (FOLUR) project mandates the development of a sustainable value chain of four commodities, namely palm, cocoa, coffee, and rice.

The national project has also received support from the multilateral environment fund, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), she added.

On the same occasion, Resident Representative for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Indonesia Sara Ferrer Olivella said that despite Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea experiencing similar challenges, they may require different solutions.

She said that value chain transformation requires funding support for the private sector, although sustainability and small farmers' interests should not be neglected.

During the Regional Learning Forum, participants share experience and best practices in FOLUR implementation, sustainable landscaping, sustainability certification, capacity building for small farmers, and other related programs.

At the forum's business matching, sustainable initiatives in the palm sector from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea were introduced to potential investors and buyers.

Indonesia and Papua New Guinea also offer investment potentials in the cocoa sector, covering processing infrastructure and capacity building for farmers.

According to the Agriculture Ministry, Indonesia had 16.83 million hectares of palm plantations across 28 provinces as of 2025. Of this total, 6.93 million hectares were managed as people's farms, involving 3.04 million farmers.

The ministry recorded Indonesia's crude palm oil (CPO) production at 51.6 million tons in 2025, an increase of 7.5 percent from 2024.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's cacao production stood at 616,103 tons in 2025, with average land productivity reaching 714 kilograms per hectare.

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