THE Indonesia Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) will not approve for distribution products with \'Palm Oil Free\' labels to protect palm oil as the strategic commodity for Indonesia. The move was decided in a meeting attended by officials from BPOM, Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Industry, and Ministry of Agriculture in Jakarta, Wednesday (21/8/2019).

MINISTER of Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan said that the government will make it mandatory for CPO producers to produce aviation turbine fuel (ATF), or avtur, from CPO in order to strengthen palm oil downstream industry.

MOST of Indonesian palm oil products exported to global market in 2018 are used as feedstock in downstream industries for food and non food products.

INDONESIAN President Joko \`Jokowi\` Widodo has pledged that Indonesia will export aviation turbine fuel (ATF), or avtur, and produce palm oil-based avtur. Jokowi said in his state address before members of the House of Representatives (DPR) and Regional Representatives Council (DPD) in Jakarta, Friday (16/8/2019). He said, Indonesia is implementing mandatory use of biodiesel 20% (B20) and will increase its bio-content to 30% (B30) next year.

INDONESIAN President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) wants to implement mandatory use of biodiesel 30% (B30) by January 2020 and then increase its bio-content to 50% (B50) by the end of 2020.

Biodiesel use in Indonesia showed impressive progress during the first semester 2019.

Indonesia\'s exports of palm oils have increased in the first half of 2019 amid global challenge and trade barriers.

The Indonesia Oil Palm Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS) has launched Program Grant Riset Sawit 2019, a program that offers grants and funding to researchers and institutions to develop palm oil sector. The program funds projects that aim to develop palm oil industry in order to improve productivity/efficiency, sustainability aspects, and to support innovations in palm oil products and markets.

The Indonesian government has launched an Information Technology System to facilitate verification process of biodiesel distribution documents which will be used by the Indonesia Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS) to disburse biodiesel incentives. The integrated IT system which can be accessed online is provided mainly to support implementation of biodiesel distribution and its blending with diesel fuel as well as to verify inquiries applications for biodiesel fund disbursement. The launching ceremony was held at Hotel Borobudur, Jakarta, Friday (9/82019).

TEN journalists participated in the Journalist Fellowship Program had completed a field visit to oil palm plantation managed by PT Paramitra Internusa Pratama (PIP) in District of Semitau, Kapuas Hulu Regency, West Kalimantan, in order to improve their knowledge of sustainable palm oil.