Indonesia’s Palm Oil Market Potential in Africa: Insights from Angola

Angola, located in the western part of Africa, is emerging as a promising market for Indonesian palm oil on the African continent. Several regions in Angola are ready to be developed for palm oil cultivation. This potential was highlighted during a recent visit by the Indonesian Ambassador to Namibia accredited to Angola, Wisnu Edi Pratignyo, on Thursday, July 25 2024.

Ambassador Wisnu met with Ambassador Carlos Sardinha, Director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of External Relations of Angola, to explore the potential for export and cooperation in the palm oil sector.

It was noted that Angola had previously imported palm oil seeds to be planted and developed domestically, but the initiative had not yet achieved optimal results.

“We are currently looking to import palm oil seeds and bring palm oil experts from Indonesia,” said Ambassador Carlos.

Currently, palm oil cultivation and processing in Angola are still traditional. It is hoped that Indonesian palm oil experts can assist in modernizing and improving the productivity of palm oil plantations.

Ambassador Wisnu welcomed Angola’s interest in developing palm oil plantations.

“Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil,” Ambassador Wisnu explained.

One Angolan importer mentioned that over 50% of processed palm oil products are sourced from Indonesia. The Angolan palm oil market remains open to raw palm oil products, which can be further processed in Angola.

Cooperation in palm oil products could fill the gap in agricultural and industrial collaboration between Indonesia and Angola. To this end, Ambassador Wisnu has invited Angolan palm oil stakeholders to utilize the Second Indonesia Africa Forum (IAF-2) in September 2024 to meet with relevant partners in the Indonesian palm oil industry.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Windhoek, Republic of Namibia.