InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Andi Amran Sulaiman has affirmed the government's grand strategy to strengthen national energy resilience through the downstreaming of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) for the B50 biodiesel program. This move is expected not only to halt diesel imports but also to give Indonesia greater control over global CPO prices.

“If we use 5.3 million tons of CPO for B50, Indonesia can stop diesel imports and simultaneously save state foreign exchange. Furthermore, we can control world CPO prices, as 60 percent of the production is in Indonesia,” Amran confidently stated at a press conference at the Presidential Office in Jakarta on Thursday (9/10/2025).

He argued that Indonesia has been exporting most CPO in crude form, allowing other countries to benefit significantly from the added value. By downstreaming and converting a portion of CPO into biofuel, Indonesia will strengthen the energy sector, improve farmer welfare, and boost national income.

The diversion of 5.3 million tons of CPO to the biodiesel sector is part of a new direction for agricultural development that focuses on the downstreaming and industrialization of agricultural products. Amran stated that the success in maintaining national food security now gives the government room to go further: building energy independence based on agricultural output.

To accelerate this step, the Ministry of Agriculture is preparing an Additional Budget (ABT) of Rp 9.95 trillion to provide free seeds and seedlings to farmers across Indonesia. The program covers 800,000 hectares of plantation land and is projected to absorb 1.6 million new workers in the next two years. Amran is optimistic that the move toward green energy conversion will usher in a new era of food and energy independence for Indonesia. (T2)