Executive Director of the Indonesian Vegetable Oil Industry Association (GIMNI), Sahat Sinaga at the iftar event at the Office of the Indonesian Bioefuel Producers Association (APROBI), Kuningan, Jakarta, Thursday (21/3).
The government is asked to impose export tariffs on palm oil mill effluent (POME) the same as crude palm oil (CPO).
This was conveyed by the Executive Director of the Indonesian Vegetable Oil Industry Association (GIMNI), Sahat Sinaga at a joint opening event at the Office of the Indonesian Bioefuel Producers Association (APROBI), Kuningan, Jakarta, Thursday (21/3).
Sahat highlighted that POME’s export levy (PE) is only US $ 5 per ton, while CPO export costs US $ 113 per ton. In fact, the quality is both upstream products.
“Why is the tax US$5? While CPO if I’m not mistaken US $ 98 PE, BK (exit duty) US $ 15. So US$113 compared to US$5 POME. Even though the quality is the same upstream product. It’s not downstream,” Sahat said.
According to Sahat, so far, outsiders have enjoyed profits of hundreds of dollars per ton from POME. In fact, at least Indonesia’s POME exports amounted to 1.7 million tons since the last two years.
Sahat considered that Indonesia had missed because POME has now been exported to Europe at low prices. This, said Sahat, is certainly very desirable for biofuel entrepreneurs in European countries.
“POME is by product, by-product so that carbon emissions are low. In the form later, oil can be made for biodiesel. So, the European biofuel industry craves this including UCO for fuel and the subsidies are big so the price of POME is higher than CPO,” he said.
Sahat himself claimed to have asked the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) that POME be included in four materials related to domestic market obligation (DMO).
“I have conveyed it to the Ministry of Trade 6 months ago to take immediate action. My proposal immediately POME goes into four DMO-related materials. Because it is upstream, wearing PE and BK is the same as CPO, so that it is fair,” he said.
In addition, Sahat also requested that the government also require POME exporters to be registered.
“So that you can trace where you can get it. There are two types, there is real POME, there are no 260 million liters. Because taking it must be skim belt technology. How many companies in the republic have the technology? There are probably only 5. I used to wear it before. The skim belt is imported from Norway,” Sahat added.