JAKARTA: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo wants to turn the country’s coconuts into an alternate source of bioaviation fuel in a move to step up the downstreaming of the agriculture sector.

Jokowi also asked the industry to pay more attention to the development of coconut waste in the future, adding that it has potential as a biofuel.

“Coconuts can become aviation biofuel; it is a big task for us to utilise them and make biofuel production more attractive. This is also important for other countries,” he said during the 51st International Cocotech Conference and Exhibition in Surabaya, which was live streamed on YouTube.

Indonesia is the world’s second-largest coconut producer after the Philippines, and the country is seeking to replicate the success of downstreaming crude palm oil, of which it is the world’s largest producer.

The government has been pushing to increase the mix of palm oil-derived fatty acid methyl ester in the country’s biodiesel programme with a goal of 40% next year, higher than the 35% set last year.

Last year, the government also kick-started a trial of palm-oil derived aviation biofuel involving state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina and flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.

This year, it did a trial for biodiesel use for trains with state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia.

Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said at the same event that the president wants the country to stop exporting coconuts in their raw form and instead export them after they are processed domestically.

The country has been exporting coconut-derived products such as nata de coco, charcoal briquettes and coconut shells, but the country could move to coconut oil, coconut milk, grated coconut and coconut water.

The Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister said in March that the government was considering utilising coconuts that are not fit for consumption, as such coconuts comprise between 20% and 30% of the total supply in the country.

Putra Adhiguna, managing director of the Energy Shift Institute, told Bloomberg on Monday that Indonesia must ensure that bioenergy sources do not damage the environment, especially if the country plans to develop downstream processing for the export market.

He added that several countries and the European Union are paying more attention to environmental standards, reminding the government to ensure the sustainability of its coconut products. To ensure the success of the programme, he also reminded the government to maintain an adequate supply of coconuts, as there are far fewer coconuts than oil palms.

 - ANN