Indonesia to expand coconut, CPO exports to Lebanon: minister

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman announced plans to expand the export potential of Indonesian coconut and crude palm oil (CPO) to Lebanon to strengthen trade ties and widen market access across the Middle East.

The decision followed a limited courtesy call from Lebanese Ambassador to Indonesia Salam Al Achkar at the Ministry of Agriculture Headquarters in Jakarta on Thursday.

"The discussion in the meeting with Lebanon was about increasing exports. They offered olive oil, so I asked for increased exports of coconut and CPO from Indonesia to Lebanon,” Minister Amran said.

The trade talks focus on a highly complementary agricultural alliance, utilizing Indonesia’s dominance in tropical commodities to fulfill Lebanon's heavy reliance on food imports.

While specific trade volumes were not disclosed, the partnership introduces a trade synergy where Indonesia will scale up its tropical commodities, while Lebanon has offered its high-value domestic products, such as olive oil.

Indonesia holds a dominant position as the world's largest coconut producer, managing over 3.3 million hectares of plantations with an annual output of approximately 2.8 million tons.

Furthermore, Indonesia remains the global leader in palm oil production, with national output in 2025 estimated to reach 56 million tons across CPO and palm kernel oil (PKO)—serving as a primary foreign exchange earner for the plantation sector.

Meanwhile, Lebanon represents a critical strategic gateway for Indonesia, given that the Mediterranean nation imports between 65 to 80 percent of its total food supply, including almost all of its wheat supplies.

Amran highlighted this dependency as an opportunity for Indonesia to become a reliable food security partner, even expressing readiness to export rice.

"If they ask for it, I will give it to them. We have plenty of rice," Amran remarked, pointing to recent aggressive state agricultural modernization, land optimization, and streamlined fertilizer policies that have driven up domestic grain surpluses.

Throughout 2025, agricultural trade between the two nations maintained a positive trend, with Indonesia recording a trade surplus of approximately US$44.8 million.

Indonesia’s top exports to Lebanon include coconut, palm oil derivatives, coffee, plantation products, and pineapples.

Moving forward, both countries have agreed to enhance trade facilitation by harmonizing sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, aligning regulations, and conducting business matching to deepen the bilateral economic partnership.

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Translator: Muhammad Harianto, Yashinta Difa

Editor: Rahmad Nasution

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