INDONESIA: Plans afoot for foreign CPO plant

The Indonesian Trade and Industry Minister, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, has revealed that following his visit to Iran last week, the prominent crude palm oil producer Martua Sitorus is interested in building a manufacturing plant in Iran to meet the rising demand for cooking oil in the Middle East. Sitorus is understood to be financing the plant, after having studied the technical procedures applicable to foreign investment in Iran. Luhut revealed that he was optimistic that the target export earnings on non-oil/non-gas commodities for this year, stated as US$44.7m, would be reached. He stated it was important to carrying on increasing the export target, however, creating new job opportunities and building foreign reserves.