REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MEDAN -- Crude palm oil and derivatives contributed 38.73 percent to foreign exchange earning of North Sumatra in the first quarter of 2016.

"In the first quarter of 2016, North Sumatra's exports of palm oil-based vegetable oils and fats were worth US$668.95 million or 38.73 percent of the province's total foreign exchange earning of US$1.73 billion," chairman of North Sumatra branch of the Indonesian association of palm oil companies(Gapki), Setia Dharma Sebayang, said here last weekend.

The export value of CPO and derivatives, however, shrank 11.19 percent from US$753.27 million recorded by the province in the same period in 2015, the regional office the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) said.

The price of CPO and derivatives have plunged in the world market resulting in the decline in the province's earning from the exports of CPO and derivatives, Setia Darma said.

Setia Dharma noted the price of palm oil is picking up lately but not yet reaching the normal level.

Head of the North Sumatra branch of BPS, Wien Kusdiatmono, said palm oil is still the largest contributor to the foreign exchange earning of the province, followed by natural rubber and rubber products.

The price of natural rubber also declined to follow the oil price fall in the global market.

North Sumatra is the country's largest producers of palm oil and natural rubber and Indonesia is the largest producer of CPO and the second largest producer of natural rubber in the world.

"The shrinking prices of CPO and natural rubber have big impact on the economy of North Sumatra," Wien said.

The export value of North Sumatra fell to US$1.73 billion in the first three months of 2016 from US$1.83 billion in the same period in 2015.

Wien said the main export destinations for CPO and derivatives from North Sumatra were India, followed by Russia and China.

Exports to India fell 2.92 percent year-on-year to US$85.46 million in the first quarter of 2016.

Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika