ABSTRACT:
PT Socfindo is a long established, foreign owned, plantation company with operations in North Sumatra and Aceh. This paper provides a brief review of the background situation to the Indonesian oil palm industry, whilst noting the continued rapid expansion of this sector. The paper also provides a detailed example of how, over the past 30 years, PT Socfindo has retained its competitive advantage in terms of production costs and profitability through the twin mechanisms of increased productivity (internal factor) and rupiah devaluation(external factor). Provided the continued improvement in productivity of every hectare of planted land can be sustained by progressive improvements in planting materials and agricultural practices, the future prospects of this company remain extremely positive. Therefore, the experience gained by PT Socfindo over this extended period of increasing competition and a declining trend in palm oil commodity prices, could act as an example for the new players to follow in order to sustain the competitiveness of the Indonesian oil palm sector
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