Wilmar barely affected by Indonesian moratorium

The company believes Indonesia has enough non-forest degraded lands to accommodate growth of plantation businesses.

Wilmar International, the world's No.1 palm oil firm, expects Indonesia's proposed two-year ban on clearing forests to have a limited impact on its operations as land available for oil palm estates is ample.

Singapore-listed Wilmar's stand run counter to many palm oil and mining firms who fear the moratorium -- part of a $1 billion deal with Norway aimed at fighting deforestation and carbon emissions -- will curb expansion and future earnings.

Wilmar's Head of Corporate Social Responsibility Jeremy Goon said oil palm concessions only cover 3.2 percent of Indonesia's land mass but contribute 70 percent of total agriculture activity in the Southeast Asian country.
"We understand there is sufficient non-forest degraded lands in Indonesia to accommodate and support the growth of the plantation businesses," Goon told the Reuters Climate and Alternative Energy Summit.

Under the deal with Norway, the moratorium would apply from the start of next year but exactly which areas of forest will be covered remains unclear, unsettling investors.

Senior Indonesia officials have raised the idea of land swaps to help palm oil firms expand on land already degraded but the question of who pays for this remains unsettled.

View the full story in Reuters.