Introduction : Image Development of Palm Oil Industry : The Existence is more Proven in the Pandemic 2020
The year 2020 will be recorded specifically in history as the “new normal” era which changes the habits of the global community. The Covid-19 pandemic that occurred this year caused many losses such as the death of millions of people to the global economic recession has implications for the decline in welfare.
The impact of the pandemic has also been felt by all economic sectors in Indonesia, including the palm oil industry. Policies to prevent the spreading of the virus, such as lockdown and social distancing policies that are implemented in several palm oil importer countries at the beginning of the pandemic, had an impact on the global palm oil trade. Decreasing demand for importer countries due to the temporary cessation in production and consumption activities as well as reduced loading and unloading activities at the port are factors causing the decline in the export performance of palm products, so there is concern that it will affect the Indonesian trade balance, considering that these products are our superior export products.
However, this concern did not occur. On the contrary, the palm oil industry has proven its existence as a leading industry/economic sector in Indonesia that is able to survive amid a pandemic and global economic recession. The export value of palm oil products in 2020 reached USD 22.9 billion or IDR 321.5 trillion, even it’s products succeeded to become the main contributor to defeating foreign exchange exports of oil and gas products and mining products in creating a trade balance surplus in 2020.
This amount of foreign exchange for palm oil product exports during this pandemic was not despite the phenomenon of the continuously-increasing trend of CPO prices and increasing global demand for palm oleochemical-based hygienic products. The strong commitment of the Indonesian government in implementing the mandatory B30 policy has also become game-changing for the global vegetable oil market, thereby contributing to high CPO prices that beneficial for palm oil producers, both plantation companies, and smallholders.
The existence of the palm oil industry is also more evidenced by the strong immunity of oil palm plantations that continue to operate and do not “lay off employees” like other industries. This is due to the characteristics of oil palm plantations that are remote from the city center, the low man-land and man space ratio, such as applying physical distancing and using local resources.
With the high immunity of oil palm plantations, the impact of the pandemic will be less on the welfare of plantation communities in rural areas. The pandemic is also a source of inspiration to create innovative palm oil products that can be used in this situation, such as hand sanitizers, bio-disinfectants, and research related to the micronutrient content of palm oil which is useful as an immune booster which is expected to be followed up to produce health products.
Apart from the “blessings” that felt in 2020, the palm oil industry is also frequently confronted by increasingly intensive trade dynamics such as importing country’s trade policies and black campaigns that are considered discrimintating against palm oil. The black campaign also quite massive and intensive in this year that uses environmental issues related to deforestation, health issues with a recommendation to ban the consumption of saturated fatty acids that linked with the pandemic, as well as social issues such as child labor to the exploitation of female labor.