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INDONESIA’S ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE EU’S PALM OIL

EMBARGO: REACHING OUT TO TURKEY AS AN ALTERNATIVE MARKET

IQBAL RAMADHAN

iqbal.ramadhan@universitaspertamina.ac.id

Graduated from Bachelor and Master Degree from International Relations Department

Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia. Currently working as a permanent lecturer at International

Relations Department Universitas Pertamina (Indonesia). Iqbal has interest on Middle East and

North Africa Studies, Security Studies especially in Cyber Security, Diplomacy and Foreign Policy

Analysis. Iqbal is continuing his study at Doctoral Program at International Relations Department

Universitas Padjadjaran. Iqbal was one of researcher who was involved in Indonesia Palm Oil

Diplomacy, a joint research between Universitas Pertamina and Indonesia Ministry of Foreign

Affairs. Iqbal has published many articles on Indonesia’s reputable scientific journal and

international publication indexed by Copernicus and Scopus.

RAHMADHA AKBAR SYAH

rahmadhaakbar@gmail.com

Graduated from Bachelor Degree program at International Relations Department Universitas

Pertamina. Alongside with Iqbal Ramadhan, Rahmadha was one of student who participated in

Indonesia Palm Oil Diplomacy, a joint research between Universitas Pertamina and Indonesia

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Indonesia). Rahmadha is an independent researcher.

ZAKI KHUDZAIFI MAHMUD

work.khudzaifi@gmail.com

Graduated from Bachelor Degree program at International Relations Department Universitas

Pertamina. Zaki is currently working as an embassy staff (Indonesia) at Indonesian Embassy at

Paramaribo, Suriname. He is also a master student at Communication Studies Department,

Universitas Indonesia. He has done multiple research in security studies and defense diplomacy.

Abstract

Turkey was chosen as an alternative market by the Indonesian government after an embargo

from the European Union, as Turkey has a high demand for palm oil from its food and

oleochemical industries. In the energy sector, biodiesel extraction material can also not meet

the needs. These are solid reasons for the Indonesian government to penetrate economic

diplomacy through the Consulate General in Istanbul. In dissecting the performance of the

Indonesian Consulate General in Istanbul, this research uses a qualitative method and

economic diplomacy theory. This study found that the typology of Indonesia's economic

diplomacy (2019) is more developed than it was in previous years.

Keywords

Palm Oil; Economic Diplomacy; Indonesia; Turkey; Trade

Resumo

A Turquia foi escolhida como mercado alternativo pelo governo indonésio após um embargo

da União Europeia, uma vez que a Turquia tem uma grande procura de óleo de palma para

as suas indústrias alimentares e oleoquímicas. No sector da energia, o material de extracção

de biodiesel também não satisfaz as necessidades. Estas são razões sólidas para o governo

indonésio entrar na diplomacia económica através do Consulado Geral em Istambul. Ao

dissecar o desempenho do Consulado Geral Indonésio em Istambul, esta investigação utiliza

um método qualitativo e a teoria da diplomacia económica. Este estudo concluiu que a

tipologia da diplomacia económica da Indonésia (2019) está mais desenvolvida do que nos

anos anteriores.

Palavras-chave;

Óleo de Palma; Diplomacia Económica; Indonésia; Turquia; Comércio

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e-ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 13, Nº. 2 (November 2022-April 2023), pp. 316-336

Indonesia’s economic diplomacy in the contexto of the EU’s palm oil embargo: reaching out to Turkey

as na alternative market

Iqbal Ramadhan, Rahmadha Akbar Syah, Zaki Khudzaifi Mahmud

317

How to cite this article

Iqbal Ramadhan, Iqbal; Syah, Rahmadha Akbar; Mahmud, Zaki Khudzaifi (2022). Indonesia’s

Economic Diplomacy in the Context of the EU’s Palm Oil Embargo: Reaching Out to Turkey as an

Alternative Market. Janus.net, e-journal of international relations, Vol13 N2, November 2022-April

2023. Consulted [online] in date of last visit, https://doi.org/10.26619/1647-7251.13.2.13

Article received on 11 December de 2020, accepted for publication on 18 March 2022

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

e-ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 13, Nº. 2 (November 2022-April 2023), pp. 316-336

Indonesia’s economic diplomacy in the contexto of the EU’s palm oil embargo: reaching out to Turkey

as na alternative market

Iqbal Ramadhan, Rahmadha Akbar Syah, Zaki Khudzaifi Mahmud

318

INDONESIA’S ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE

EU’S PALM OIL EMBARGO: REACHING OUT TO TURKEY

AS AN ALTERNATIVE MARKET

IQBAL RAMADHAN

RAHMADHA AKBAR SYAH

ZAKI KHUDZAIFI MAHMUD

1. Introduction

For various reasons, the Indonesian government must confront the prohibition of palm

oil exports to the European Union. The vast expansion of palm oil plantations across 25

provinces and over 200 districts in Indonesia is a simple way of showing how impactful

palm oil is for Indonesia. Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) (2017) disclosed that

palm oil has contributed to the regional development, and it can be seen through palm

oil’s multiplier output – reaching the value of 1.71, indicating that the output of palm oil

is 1.71 times greater than the average value of other economic sectors. Palm oil also

creates a more excellent employment opportunity by 2.6 greater than other sectors.

Another thing to add is that the palm oil industry in Indonesia has been known for its

inclusivity in terms of employment; as the result of labor-intensive plantation technology,

thereby opening up employment opportunities for many sectors of expertise. More than

67% of the workforce education is below high school (GAPKI, 2018). Although palm oil

has a large enough role to contribute to the first SDG’s point – the No Poverty- the

European Union has different angles on seeing Indonesian palm oil. In January 2018, the

European Union Parliament supported the European Commission's announcement that

palm oil in the form of biodiesel would be prohibited from entering the European continent

beginning in January 2021. The European Commission believes that the Indonesian

government's palm oil production is incompatible with the Renewable Energy Directives

(RED), which seeks to prevent deforestation and peatland degradation (Verdinand,

2019). Internationally, Indonesia has been chastised for the development of its palm oil

industry, which has always resulted in social and environmental conflicts. For example,

the state of peatlands in Indonesia is debatable because they are frequently converted

into oil palm production areas. Peatland clearing is frequently burned, resulting in a

smoke haze that can potentially interfere with health problems and threaten biodiversity

(Astuti, 2021).

Another issue still being debated in many countries is the standardization of Indonesian

palm oil. The ISPO (Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil) standard in Indonesia contradicts

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e-ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 13, Nº. 2 (November 2022-April 2023), pp. 316-336

Indonesia’s economic diplomacy in the contexto of the EU’s palm oil embargo: reaching out to Turkey

as na alternative market

Iqbal Ramadhan, Rahmadha Akbar Syah, Zaki Khudzaifi Mahmud

319

the RSPO (Roundtable Sustainable Palm Oil) standard. According to the RSPO standard,

oil palm production must collaborate to prevent deforestation. Meanwhile, the ISPO

standard has received domestic and international criticism (Choiruzzad, Tyson and

Varkkey, 2021). The European Union is concerned not only with environmental issues

but also with the social consequences of oil palm production, such as poverty, land

conflicts, and the erosion of indigenous peoples' social rights (Delabre and Okereke,

2020). However, palm oil is Indonesia's most important commodity. As a result, the

Indonesian government is attempting to find new market share alternatives for selling

palm oil. When it comes to banning palm oil from the European Union, we must first

examine how this export commodity is produced in Indonesia. Sumatra and Borneo are

the two Indonesian islands with the highest concentrations of palm oil production. Palm

oil production from these two islands accounts for approximately 55% of global palm oil

production. Indonesia contributed 38.17 million tons of the total global palm oil trade of

58.9 million tons (Suwarno, 2019). Palm Oil Agribusiness Strategic Policy Institute

(PASPI) showed that the value of transactions produced by urban areas that are

marketed from the community of oil palm plantations (including farmers and employees

of oil palm plantations) reached Rp 336 trillion/year (GAPKI, 2018). The ownership of

palm oil companies varies as well. State-owned enterprises own around 12% of oil palm

plantation producers.

Meanwhile, private companies control 53% of the palm oil management concession.

Finally, palm oil production employs approximately 35% of small and medium-sized

businesses and is considered the bread and butter for around 19.5 million Indonesians

(Larsen et al., 2014; Soraya, 2019). According to data from the Indonesian National

Statistics Agency, India is the primary destination for palm oil exports, accounting for

29% of total Indonesian palm oil exports. China is the second-largest importer of palm

oil from Indonesia, accounting for 11% of total trade. It was followed by the Netherlands

(9%), Malaysia (5%), Singapore (4%), Egypt (3%), and Germany (2%) (Ridwannulloh

and Sunaryati, 2018). The European Union imports 7.2 million tons of palm oil, with

Indonesian palm oil accounting for roughly 60% of this total (Kurniati, 2020). Regarding

the EU's palm oil requirements, the region consumes 27% of total vegetable oil. To

counter the EU’s move to ban Indonesian palm oil from entering their market, Indonesia

had to find a new alternative market. Turkey is one of the potential and feasible

alternative countries for palm oil market share. Turkey's population continues to grow

yearly and is supported by the high consumption of vegetable oils.

According to Suhaili (2015), Turkish vegetable oil consumption per capita in 2013 was

32 kg, 5 kg higher than the average global community. Consumption continued to rise

and touched 2.48 million tonnes in 2014, almost 75,000 tonnes higher than the total

consumption in 2013. Although Turkey is also considered a producer of vegetable oils,

such as sunflower seeds and cottonseed, domestic production remains inadequate to

meet its domestic vegetable oil demands. Suhaili (2015) explained that domestic

production in 2014 was around 1.65 million tonnes, while consumption reached 2.47

million. Therefore, Turkey still needs to import more than 1.5 million tonnes of vegetable

oil and fat annually. This enormous consumption is partly due to their use as a mixture

for food and oleochemical industries. In addition to the food sector, the Turkish

government is currently working to promote the use of biodiesel in an effort to improve

the country's energy security. Eryilmaz et al. (2016) explained that at least Turkey must

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e-ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 13, Nº. 2 (November 2022-April 2023), pp. 316-336

Indonesia’s economic diplomacy in the contexto of the EU’s palm oil embargo: reaching out to Turkey

as na alternative market

Iqbal Ramadhan, Rahmadha Akbar Syah, Zaki Khudzaifi Mahmud

320

import 3.5 million tonnes of sunflowers and spend around 3.75 million dollars per year

since the establishment of the biodiesel proliferation program.

Currently, there have not been any existing free trade agreements between Indonesia

and Turkey. According to an official press release issued by the Indonesian Ministry of

Trade, the two countries are still in the negotiation stage of the Indonesia-Turkey

Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IT-CEPA). This agreement is in its

fourth phase and covers commodity trading agreements. Indonesian exports to Turkey

totaled $1.81 billion, with a surplus of $639.9 million (Ministry of Trade Republic of

Indonesia, 2019a). Turkey's position is quite strategic for Indonesia because, besides

being an important trade partner, Indonesia sees Turkey as the main route to enter the

Middle East, Southern Europe, and North Africa markets.

Meanwhile, Malaysia, Indonesia's main competitor in the palm oil industry, already has a

free trade agreement with Turkey; Indonesia faces enormous challenges in entering the

Turkish market (MITI, 2015). Malaysia can market its commodity products at lower tariffs

thanks to the free trade agreement. In 2019, according to (Trade Map, 2019), the share

of Turkey's palm oil import market came from Malaysia with a total of 94.6%. On the

other hand, Indonesia is determined to enter Turkey's market to trade its palm oil

commodities. Therefore it is interesting to understand how the Indonesian government

is eager to penetrate the Turkish market without the help of free trade agreements,

relying on the fate of one of their most essential commodities solely on economic

diplomacy efforts through its consulate general in Istanbul. Hence, the authors suggest

a research question: How has Indonesia government develop its palm oil

economic diplomacy towards Turkey?

2. Literature Review

The researchers have compiled several previous studies that summarized Indonesia's

diplomacy on the issue of oil palm. The purpose of searching previous research is to find

novelty in scientific work (Creswell, 2014). According to Creswell (2014), the steps in

looking for previous research are to look for differences in aspects of topics, problems,

theories, methodologies, or research scopes. One previous study on the palm oil issue

discussed the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in mediating disputes between

Indonesia and the European Union (Sylvana et al., 2020). When the European Union

imposed a ban on palm oil imports into Europe, the Indonesian government took the

issue to the multilateral level, enlisting the WTO as a mediator. The WTO's involvement

is critical for the Indonesian government because it has an organizational chart tasked

with problem-solving, namely the Dispute Settlement Body (Sylvana et al., 2020). The

other two studies address the issue of oil palm problems due to state policy. The first

study chastised the Indonesian Standard Palm Oil (ISPO) certification for failing to adhere

to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (Choiruzzad, Tyson and Varkkey, 2021).

Meanwhile, subsequent research explains how the Indonesian government balances the

need for oil palm production with the restoration of peatlands. Oil palm production

frequently intersects with clearing peatlands via forest fires (Astuti, 2021). Three studies

explain the relationship between economic diplomacy and the issue of oil palm in the

context of the concept of economic diplomacy. The first study describes the European

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e-ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 13, Nº. 2 (November 2022-April 2023), pp. 316-336

Indonesia’s economic diplomacy in the contexto of the EU’s palm oil embargo: reaching out to Turkey

as na alternative market

Iqbal Ramadhan, Rahmadha Akbar Syah, Zaki Khudzaifi Mahmud

321

Union's economic diplomacy efforts to prohibit importing Indonesian palm oil. The

European Union aims to integrate economic growth to reduce carbon emissions

(Verdinand, 2019). The second study describes Indonesia's economic diplomacy efforts

in response to the ban on palm oil imports by prohibiting raw nickel exports. Nickel is an

essential import commodity in Europe (el Qudsi, Kusumawardhana and Kyrychenko,

2020). Simultaneously, the third study examines Indonesia's economic diplomacy in

responding to the ban by bolstering aspects of sustainable environmental development,

biodiversity, and socioeconomic synergy (Suwarno, 2019). According to the authors’

previous research, no scientific articles specifically discuss Indonesia's oil palm diplomacy

with Turkey. As a result, the author will examine how Indonesia uses economic diplomacy

to increase Turkey's palm oil market share.

3. Theoretical Framework

As a determinant of the direction of research, there must be a conceptual and theoretical

framework that can be accounted for academically with all its validity. The right concept

to analyze this research case is economic diplomacy. Economic diplomacy is strategically

significant for a country to increase its national economic capacity. The economic

diplomacy concept that will be used will refer to the analysis of trade promotion by Rana

(2007) in the Economic Diplomacy: The Experience of Developing States in Bayne and

Woolcock (2007) The New Economic Diplomacy: Decision Making and Negotiations in

International Relationship. In addition to trade promotion, Bayne and Woolcock’s (2017)

concept will also be explained regarding the importance of the involvement of the private

sector in economic diplomacy. Both concepts will identify how the Indonesian Consulate

General in Istanbul functions as an actor in Indonesia's economic diplomacy missions in

the palm oil trade sector. It is also necessary to analyze Indonesia's typology of economic

diplomacy in penetrating Turkey. These will be conducted to see the current form of

Indonesian economic diplomacy (in the first period of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo).

The theory that is suitable to be applied is Rana and Chatterjee’s (2011) economic

diplomacy typology. Secondary data sources used in this research are various research

reports and scientific studies conducted before and various books, scientific journals, and

news relevant to the topic. Primary data also supported this research through interviews

with relevant agencies: the Assessment and Policy Office of the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs, the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Istanbul, and the

Indonesian Palm Oil Association.

3.1. Theory and Approach

Economic diplomacy scientifically studies the complex relations of diplomacy and trade,

cooperation, and ways to influence external economic policy. Rana (2007) revealed that

one of the essential things that can be done to maximize economic diplomacy is through

trade promotion activities. These activities include assisting domestic companies looking

for overseas markets, market studies, business delegation visits, participation in

international trade meetings, and buyer-seller meetings. Some steps that can be taken

are (1) Informing home business associations and individual enterprises on the primary

economic conditions in the target country - informing the economic condition of the

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e-ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 13, Nº. 2 (November 2022-April 2023), pp. 316-336

Indonesia’s economic diplomacy in the contexto of the EU’s palm oil embargo: reaching out to Turkey

as na alternative market

Iqbal Ramadhan, Rahmadha Akbar Syah, Zaki Khudzaifi Mahmud

322

destination country to the exporter because this will be related to the level of goods

acceptance in the destination country.; and (2) Analyzing the potential markets for the

home country - In addition to the importance of analyzing market potential, potential

competitors must also be identified and analyze how their products can reach that

market.

While in Bayne and Woolcock’s (2017) analysis of the importance of the involvement of

the private sector in economic diplomacy, there is a decision-making process by the

government in economic diplomacy with seven stages of the process, namely (1) Taking

the Lead (officials and ministers); (2) External Consultation (officials and private sector

players); (3) Internal Coordination (officials and regulators); (4) Political Authority

(ministers); (5) Democratic Legitimization (legislatures); (6) International Negotiation

(officials and ministers); and (7) Ratification of Agreement (legislatures). Of the seven

stages, the focus will be on the second stage, namely External Consultation (officials and

private sector players). The private sector refers to using think tanks or consultants to

formulate economic diplomacy policies. Even though think tanks and consultants usually

do not have a role in the negotiating phase, they are as important as state actors. Table

1 below explains the typology/classifications and levels of economic diplomacy, which

will be used to see the form of Indonesian economic diplomacy.

Table 1 - Typology and Levels of Economic Diplomacy

No.

Classification

Traditional

Niche-Focused

Evolving

Innovative

External

Economic

Management

Handled by the trade

& economic

ministries; little

involvement of MFA

Promotion

concentrates on

the identified

niche

Some coordination

between trade and

foreign ministries;

contestation also likely

Joined-up and

other cooperative

arrangements

Policy

Management

Limited role for MFA,

frequent turf battles

Good internal

coordination

Inter-ministry or

cabinet-level

coordination; tending

toward improvement

Institutionalized

management,

strong teamwork

Role of Non-

State Actors

Episodic depends on

the personality

Variable

New procedures, vital

networking

Harmonization with

all stakeholders

Economic Aid:

Recipient

Handled by economic

agencies, seldom

coordinated with MFA

Limited

coordination

Networking between

the aid management

agency and MFA

‘Graduated’ out of

aid receipt, or close

to that stage

Economic Aid:

Donor

Unlikely to be an aid

donor

Unlikely to be an

aid donor

The modest program,

usually covers

technical cooperation

Expanding

program, run by

MFA in harmony

with trade

promotion agencies

Trade

Promotion

Often handled by a

commercial cadre,

outside MFA control

Limited focus on

the commercial

promotion

outside the niche

area

Cooperative

arrangements, often

the integration of

political and economic

work

Well-coordinated

activities, a role

model in a range of

activities

Investment

Promotion

Handled by domestic

agencies, limited role

of the diplomatic

system

Active use of

embassy network

MFAs and embassies

work actively with

home agencies, often

at the individual

initiative

Strong team effort,

based on

institutional

arrangements

Regional

Diplomacy

Role

Usually reactive

Focused on the

preferred niche

area

Active

Innovative

exploitation of

potential

Source: (Rana and Chatterjee, 2011).

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Vol. 13, Nº. 2 (November 2022-April 2023), pp. 316-336

Indonesia’s economic diplomacy in the contexto of the EU’s palm oil embargo: reaching out to Turkey

as na alternative market

Iqbal Ramadhan, Rahmadha Akbar Syah, Zaki Khudzaifi Mahmud

323

Out of Rana’s eight economic diplomacy classifications, five types can be identified to

refer to Indonesia's economic diplomacy activities in the Turkish market: (1) External

Economic Management – related to the practical steps of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

in collaboration with other government agencies; (2) Policy Management, which explains

the involvement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the formulation of external economic

policies; (3) The Role of Non-State Actors, which emphasizes how the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs can to accommodate the role of the private sector to support economic diplomacy;

(4) Trade Promotion; and (5) Investment Promotion, which explains the extent of trade

promotion and investment promotion carried out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

4. Methods

The author employs qualitative methods in scientific articles to respond to problem

formulation. Qualitative methods are commonly used in social science research to answer

a social problem using language as scientific thinking (Creswell, 2007). In International

Relations studies, the type of research used in this scientific article is a case study, which

examines interactions between states and non-states that cross sovereign boundaries.

Case study research investigates foreign policy, security studies, diplomacy, and

international political economy (Roselle, Spray and Shelton, 2019). The author employs

data collection techniques such as interviews and literature studies. The author used

structured interviews to collect primary data and a structured interview technique that

used interview guidelines as a research instrument (Creswell, 2014). Researchers will

direct informants to answer questions based on interview guidelines during structured

interviews. The authors intervied three important informants such as: Head of Intra and

Inter Europe and American Region Cooperation, Political and Trade Officer at Indonesia

Consultae General in Istanbul, and Deputy Chairman of Indonesian Palm Oil Association

(GAPKI). The authors consult journals and official documents during the literature review

to supplement their research analysis. Creswell explains that in the case of study

research, researchers can obtain secondary data in official documents, audio, video, and

journal data from databases such as Scopus, PubMed, or Dimensions (Creswell, 2014).

Embedded analysis, an analytical technique that focuses on one type of case, is used by

the author during the analysis stage (Creswell, 2007). The author will only discuss

Indonesia's palm oil economic diplomacy efforts in Turkey in this case study. In addition,

the author introduces the concept of reflectivism in this scientific article. In social

research, reflectivism means that authors can provide perspectives or views as long as

they are supported by valid data (Creswell, 2014).

5. Analysis

5.1. Indonesia’s Economic Diplomacy Efforts with Turkey

The performance of Indonesia's economic diplomacy in the context of the oil palm trade

has been quite visible in previous years. The reason is that Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign

Affairs has begun to be active in paving the way for companies to enter non-traditional

countries. The neighboring country, Malaysia, has the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB),

responsible for developing the oil palm plantation and its industry. Funds for MPOB's daily

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Vol. 13, Nº. 2 (November 2022-April 2023), pp. 316-336

Indonesia’s economic diplomacy in the contexto of the EU’s palm oil embargo: reaching out to Turkey

as na alternative market

Iqbal Ramadhan, Rahmadha Akbar Syah, Zaki Khudzaifi Mahmud

324

activities come from using taxes on the oil palm plantations and the industry and grants

for federal government research. Drawing on Rana (2007), we argue that the Indonesian

government has chosen the Consulate in Istanbul as the main point of the economic

diplomacy efforts in Turkey because they are harnessing the collaboration between state

and private actors to achieve economic interest. Referring to Khalidi (2019), MPOB

combines the Malaysian Palm Oil Research Institute and the Malaysian Palm Oil License

and Registration Authority. While in Indonesia, export activities appear to be under

private control and have minimal government support. As a private actor, Indonesian

Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) faces difficulties when accommodating the activities of

exporters, such as tariff and non-tariff blocks. The lack of one-stop coordination causes

Indonesia's palm oil trade not to be structurally integrated within the ministerial body.

Correspondingly, there is still a perception from the government, especially the foreign

ministry, regarding "who is interested and who is going to be the buyer," causing oil palm

export activities not to go well. Support for promotional purposes is critical to maintaining

the stability of a market because this is the main character of economic diplomacy.

Economic diplomacy itself is very sensitive and reactive to market changes and

developments. In line with Odell’s (2019) analysis, economic diplomacy can fail if the

market offers more attractive alternatives than the ones we currently have in our

pockets. These alternatives can vary regarding investment value, exchange of goods and

services, transfer of knowledge and technology, export and import tariff schemes,

political support, and historical relations. Therefore, as Rana (2007) previously

mentioned, the presence of state actors is necessary to oversee export activities.

5.1.1. Trade Promotions

So what can the embassy, or the consulate office, actually do? Referring to the analysis

of Rana (2007), in The Role of Embassies chapter, it is revealed that some developing

countries interested in taking non-traditional markets will face several problems. First,

the exporting country does not have enough knowledge about the culture/condition of

the country, which will make it harder to invest. Secondly, regulations regarding

investment security and other norms designated by non-traditional markets are

challenging to understand in exporting countries. It is feared that this will lead to non-

tariff barriers. Thirdly, exporting countries do not have credibility in the eyes of importers.

According to Rana, this can give birth to a chicken-and-egg syndrome, making it

increasingly difficult to penetrate non-traditional markets. Therefore, to deal with various

obstacles, embassies and consulates must align diplomatic missions with trade promotion

activities, as written below:

a) Informing home business associations and individual enterprises on the basic

economic conditions in the target country – informing the economic condition of the

destination country to the exporter, related to the level of acceptance of the goods in

the designated country.

The Indonesian Palm Oil Entrepreneurs Association has members consisting of Government-owned

plantations (state-owned enterprises [BUMN]), national and foreign private plantation companies, and oil

palm farmer cooperatives.

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Vol. 13, Nº. 2 (November 2022-April 2023), pp. 316-336

Indonesia’s economic diplomacy in the contexto of the EU’s palm oil embargo: reaching out to Turkey

as na alternative market

Iqbal Ramadhan, Rahmadha Akbar Syah, Zaki Khudzaifi Mahmud

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b) Analyzing the potential markets for the home country – This second step is essential

to see what products the host country needs. Apart from the importance of analyzing

market potential, potential competitors must also be identified, and their products

must be analyzed to reach the market. This method is used to explore the Mexican

meat market and to export tea products to Egypt.

c) Credibility is also built when home exporters and manufacturers take part in trade

shows in the target country – exporters' credibility is necessary to increase the interest

of potential buyers, and this can be promoted through exhibitions. In addition, the

exhibition is also a place for knowledge transfer and supports research and

development activities for a company to strengthen its products. Therefore, it is

imperative to make the exhibition a success.

d) Permitting an exporter to hold a small buyer-seller show on the premises of the

embassy or consulate – most embassies now have unique rooms (trade centers) to

organize promotional activities. Allowing companies to hold a show or an exhibition

will increase their reputation and strengthen the relationship between companies and

embassies. Rana explained that the Japanese Embassy was very active in doing this,

causing companies to understand the embassy's role fully. Moreover, the state can

also provide tariffs for exporters to carry out these promotional activities.

e) Visits by business delegations are a key method for export promotion and for FDI

mobilization – Approva Srivastava in Rana (2007) explains that a neat and directed

visit will change the perceptions of a company's decision-makers. The embassy's

professionalism will be seen from the visits, usually resulting in 'one-to-one meetings,'

which lead to agreements between buyers and sellers.

At least there are two points, out of the points mentioned earlier, points a and b, which

Indonesia has done as a strategy to increase trade in the palm oil sector with Turkey.

This strategy is closely related to the Indonesian government’s economic diplomacy

efforts in promoting palm oil, precisely when the issue of the palm oil embargo is peaking.

The government, through the Indonesian Consulate General in Istanbul, is moving

quickly to conduct a so-called event of trade promotion where it was attended by around

60 Turkish entrepreneurs and speakers from Indonesia, such as the Chairperson of the

Indonesian Oleochemical Producers Association (APOLIN), who was also the

representative of GAPKI (Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Istanbul,

2019). The activities carried out by the Indonesian Consulate General in Istanbul are in

line with Rana’s analysis:

a) Informing home business associations and individual enterprises of the basic economic

conditions in the target country. At this point, the Indonesian government’s economic

diplomacy scheme aligns with Rana’s (2007) analysis. Consul General Herry Sudradjat

delivered an update on the Indonesian economy and various business opportunities

and information in Indonesia, primarily as a source of import for Turkey for several

leading commodities such as rubber, tea, coffee, seafood, and textile yarn, and

forestry products. The Chairperson of APOLIN, in his presentation, also explained the

products of the Indonesian palm oil industry, which are widely imported by the Turkish

industry, as well as their environmentally friendly nature. The choice of palm oil

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products in this business forum is based on the consideration that palm oil is a product

that has prospects for the Turkish market in the future. A state representative office

must inform the state of its economy so that importers know the country's potential

and exporter channels. The Indonesian Consulate General in Istanbul has also been

cooperating with several business associations or chambers of commerce that are

purely private or affiliated with the government, such as the Istanbul Chambers of

Commerce (ICC), Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association

(MUSIAD), and Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEIK).

b) Analyzing the potential markets for the home country. The lack of acceptance of

Indonesian palm oil in Turkey is none other because Malaysia has already agreed with

the Turkish government. As the leading competitor, Malaysian palm oil exports to

Turkey have experienced a considerable surge, almost 50%, accompanied by a decline

in Indonesian palm oil on the Turkish market. One way that Indonesia can take is to

immediately realize the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA),

which is expected to be a stimulus to boost Indonesia's palm oil exports. This

agreement aims to provide guarantees of legal protection to exporters and investors

from discriminatory practices or other adverse actions by the host country’s

government. Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is also a very

comprehensive free trade cooperation with coverage of product liberalization in almost

all tariff posts, compared to the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), which only

liberalizes specific tariff posts in Indonesia's bilateral trade.

5.1.2. External Consultation (Private Sector)

The private sector is a think tank or consulting agency in formulating economic diplomacy

policies. These private sector groups are usually absent at the negotiating table but are

as important as state actors. Bayne and Woolcock (2017) also emphasized that in the

formulation of an economic diplomacy strategy, external consultation is part of the

parallel process of the body of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which also includes internal

consultations. The difference between internal and external consultations lies within the

involved actors. If internal consultations target other government departments (cross-

sectoral departments), external consultations focus on actors outside the government. A

department will carefully consult with the private sector to examine policies and whether

they are following market conditions or not (Bayne and Woolcock, 2017). The department

also consults with expert opinions, including academics and think tanks devoted to policy

issues.

The involvement of private actors in the formulation of decision-making progress was

seen in 2018 when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Policy Analysis and

Development Agency (BPPK), approved the MoU of a joint research effort for palm oil

market penetration with researchers and academics. The research found various

alternative market references that Indonesia can rely on to divert exports to the

This data was obtained when conducting an interview with the Consulate General of the Republic of

Indonesia in Istanbul, Herry Sudrajat in October 2019.

The Ministry of Trade is not the only one involved in drafting trade agreements. One thing that can be noted

is the performance of the Indian Embassy which has been involved in the preparation and negotiation of

single and regional free trade agreements, for further reading see Rana and Chatterjee (2011).

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European Union, such as India and Pakistan. The importance of mapping the penetration

of the palm oil market continues in 2019 when the Indonesian Consulate General in

Istanbul cooperates with consultants in the field of market research, one of which is the

recommendation of several selected companies in Turkey that have great potential to

import palm oil products (Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Istanbul,

2019). Furthermore, the primary data that the authors obtained from the Indonesian

Consulate General in Istanbul revealed that they are currently conducting a market

intelligence collaboration with a consulting firm to research opportunities for Indonesian

peppercorn and stearic acid products. The scheme is carried out by disclosing several

strategic questions to the consulting companies, summarized in Table 2.

Table 2 - Focus Questions

No.

Questions for Market Intelligence Research

What criteria do you want in choosing the type of stearic acid?

What is your annual consumption in tonnage?

What is the average order from one supplier in tonnage?

Who are your current suppliers? How satisfied are you?

What criteria are you looking for from your suppliers?

Are there any requests that have not been fulfilled so far?

What price range do you want?

Who is the sale aimed at (agent or end buyer)?

In which sector is this product (stearic acid) consumed a lot? Do you sell your products to the

following sector?

10.

What do you know about suppliers from Indonesia and stearic acid?

11.

Are you willing to become a distributor for goods from Indonesia? Please mention which field

you are interested in and explain why.

Source: Interview with the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Istanbul, 2019.

The prospect of conducting economic diplomacy activities is directly affected by the steps

adopted through research with think tanks. Bayne and Woolcock (2017) mentioned that

external consultation had a profound effect since adopting a new economic diplomacy

strategy. First, market developments are closely monitored by the private sector.

Secondly, they master the field and are directly participating or practicing in it, knowing

the right spot of locations and how to invest and sell goods and services for the benefit

of a country. To improve the performance of economic diplomacy, a group of skilled

people in the government and the private sector must understand and negotiate

economic and trade issues from a national perspective. Problems in economic diplomacy

are often complex and technical; departments cannot bring all the necessary experts.

Therefore, economic diplomacy will most likely fail if a scarcity of skilled people who can

negotiate has not been overcome yet. Bayne and Woolcock (2017) explained that

assistance from academics and think tanks would greatly influence the formulation of a

country's economic diplomacy strategy. In many places, there are channels devoted to

this, such as panels on Climate Change, which mobilize the best scientific advice; the

G20 Summit, which is now surrounded by B20 (for business); Civil 20 (for NGOs), and

Think 20 (for academics).

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According to an interview with the Deputy Chair of GAPKI, Togar Sitanggang (2019), the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently very proactive in conducting economic diplomacy

studies in marketing palm oil products in various non-traditional markets. The Indonesian

Palm Oil Association saw this as a signal that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs already

focuses on economic diplomacy; in contrast, during the leadership of Susilo Bambang

Yudhoyono, economic diplomacy was not necessarily implemented. In addition, GAPKI

also saw that the Ministry of Trade, which should have been the leading actor in

promoting oil palm, did not play an active role (Sitanggang, 2019). The Foreign Ministry's

overseas representative offices actively conduct joint studies with GAPKI to be able to

formulate a strategy if a problem arises. However, GAPKI did not deny that the Foreign

Ministry's response in assessing the Turkish market is considerably slow. The Indonesian

Palm Oil Association asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to conduct penetration efforts

three years ago, but the response was given one year after (Sitanggang, 2019). As

Turkey is not the leading destination for palm oil exports and implementing the Ministry

of Foreign Affair’s 2015-2019 Strategic Plan in the economic diplomacy sector is not an

easy effort to conduct, the slow progress is somehow understandable. The typology of

Indonesian diplomacy is loaded with the traditional sector, and it requires a long and

sustainable time to move on to economic diplomacy because they have to adjust; one of

the ways is by training existing diplomats (Sitanggang, 2019).

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recognizes the existence of the private sector in conducting

studies in formulating economic diplomacy strategies. Although studies on the Turkish

market are still not visible, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed that in a few years,

Turkey would be a priority country for Indonesian oil palm (Coordinating Ministry for

Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, 2019). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs plays

an active role in cooperating with the private sector to conduct studies because oil palm

is the priority of Indonesia's economic diplomacy at this time (Windratmo, 2019). Based

on an interview with the Head of the European American Intra Region Cooperation

Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Windratmo, he explained that in the next five

years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would become the frontline of promoting oil palm to

several destination countries. Therefore, many studies, seminars, and disseminations

invite think tanks and academics to formulate palm oil diplomacy (Windratmo, 2019).

Sabaruddin (2017) explained that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the frontline of

Indonesian diplomacy, began to realize the importance of including the economic

diplomacy agenda as one of the top priorities in Indonesia's foreign policy.

5.2. Indonesia’s Economic Diplomacy in Turkey

Adding another set of analyses to identify the types of Indonesian economic diplomacy

activities in the Turkish market is necessary to see the current position of the stage in

which the Indonesian government is conducting its activities. The set of analyses that

will be used refers to Rana’s typology of economic diplomacy in developing countries,

which can be seen in Table 3 Rana divided the typology of diplomacy into four levels and

eight types. The levels are traditional, niche-focused, evolving, and innovative. The types

are External Economic Management; Policy Management; Role of Non-State Actors;

Economic Aid: Donor; Economic Aid: Recipient; Trade Promotion; Investment Promotion;

and Regional Diplomacy Role. Out of the eight Rana economic diplomacy classifications,

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five types can be identified in reference to the Indonesian government's economic

diplomacy activities on the Turkish market (Table 3): External Economic Management;

Policy Management; the Role of Non-State Actors; Trade Promotion; and Investment

Promotion.

(1) The role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in External Economic Management has

begun to appear; this is due to the collaboration between the Ministry of Trade, and

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in holding a business forum in Turkey. Therefore, the

authors analyze that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has entered the evolving stage,

which emphasizes coordination across government agencies. This collaboration was

rarely seen in previous years because most diplomacy undertaken by the Ministry

of Foreign Affairs was mainly related to borders, traditional security, transnational

crime, and other high political issues. In contrast, common political issues are

handled by other ministries, such as the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy,

which handles cultural diplomacy, and the Ministry of Trade, which manages

economic diplomacy. Ironically, these agencies also have and educate their so-

called diplomats; therefore, it would be hard for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to

offer their diplomats to participate in specific issues these agencies address (Killian,

2012).

(2) Although the role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has begun to be seen in External

Economic Management, the formulation and governance of policies (Policy

Management) its role is still limited. This can be seen in the absence of the Ministry

of Foreign Affairs as a working partner of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic

Affairs in formulating both external and internal economic policies. Per Presidential

Regulation No. 8/2015, the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs only

cooperates with ten related Ministries, as shown in Table 3.

Tabel 3 - Coordination of Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs

No.

Ministries

Ministry of Finance (Sri Mulyani Indrawati)

Ministry of Industry (Airlangga Hartarto)

Ministry of Trade (Enggartiasto Lukita)

Ministry of Agriculture (Andi Amran Sulaiman)

Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Siti Nurbaya)

Ministry of Manpower (Hanif Dhakiri)

Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (Rini Soemarno)

Minister for Public Works and Human Settlements (Basuki Hadimuljono)

Ministry of Agriculture and Spatial Planning (Sofyan Djalil)

10.

Ministry of Cooperatives and Small to Medium Enterprises (Anak Agung Ngurah

Puspayoga)

Source: (Ministry of Trade Republic of Indonesia, 2019b)

(3) At the Role of Non-State Actors stage, it is seen that the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs has changed a lot and entered the stage of evolving – new procedures and

intense networking. The existence of private sectors in formulating economic

diplomacy strategy is a new thing for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and began to

be seen in the era of Joko Widodo's leadership, which emphasized that diplomats

must be able to become a salesperson. So far, diplomats are not yet equipped with

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the ability to carry out these tasks, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has begun to

work with the private sector to realize this. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs currently

accommodates many academics and think tanks in formulating a diplomatic

strategy for palm oil. The Indonesian Palm Oil Association is one of the participating

partners. This was then manifested when the Indonesian Consulate General in

Istanbul cooperated with several business associations/chambers of commerce that

were purely private business firms and firms affiliated with the government.

The

results will be used as policy recommendations in determining the number of

selected companies in Turkey with great potential for importing palm oil and its

derivative products.

(4) Whereas in the Trade Promotion and Investment Promotion sector, the

Indonesian Consulate General in Istanbul has conducted business forum activities

between businesses of the two countries to promote palm oil products in 2019.

These activities have given a good image to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign

Affairs; DEIK conveyed its commitment to facilitate communication between the

Turkish food and cosmetics industry with APOLIN, related to palm-derived

oleochemical and stearic acid products. Meanwhile, three Turkish pepper importers

are interested in exploring pepper imports from Luwu because of the promotion of

pepper that has been carried out in conjunction with the promotion of palm oil, one

of the importers even planned to inspect the location of the plantation shortly

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2019). This business forum continued in July 2019 when

the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Indonesian

Consulate General in Istanbul, led a delegation of Indonesian entrepreneurs to meet

with DEIK and Turkish palm oil entrepreneurs.

Table 4 - Indonesia's Economic Diplomacy Efforts in Turkey

No.

Classification

Indonesian Economic Diplomacy Practices

Typology

External

Economic

Management

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Trade

have implemented collaborative external economic

activities

Evolving

Policy

Management

In the formulation of external and internal economic

policy, the role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is

minimal; the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs

only cooperates with ten ministries

Traditional

Role of Non-

State Actors

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has coordinated with the

private sector (market research consultant) in the

formulation of market penetration strategies in Turkey

Evolving

Trade

Promotion

Trade promotion is limited to commercial activities and

only targets priority commodities

Niche-

Focused

Investment

Promotion

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its representative

office in Istanbul, actively carries out investment

promotion activities

Niche-

Focused

Through interviews with GAPKI, previously, many studies were conducted between the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs and GAPKI in formulating strategic policies to the Turkish market. One of the formulations produced

by the results is an analysis that Indonesia must immediately realize Indonesia-Turkey CEPA.

In a final report issued in 2011, Killian explained that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received criticism from

the legislature regarding the performance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs diplomacy on issues that are

'non-political' or in other words issues that are categorized as low politics. This criticism is related to the

failure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' economic diplomacy which is seen as too 'political,' so that it does

not show tangible results for the Indonesian economy.

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From Table 4, it can be seen that the typology of Indonesia's economic diplomacy

regarding the palm oil trade in the Turkish market has taken a mature form. Four

classifications are no longer at the traditional level, which means that the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs is already aware of the importance of increasing the capacity of the

national economy through economic diplomacy. However, Policy Management is still at

the traditional level; this has to get further attention because the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs in external policy formulation is necessary to increase market penetration

accuracy and maintain market stability. Given the increasingly dynamic global economic

competition and other countries competing to protect their national products from being

accepted in the industry, tariff and non-tariff barriers have become a hot issue. Therefore,

each department or ministry needs to work together as a team.

The authors will discuss two important points related to the implementation of external

economic management and the involvement of non-state actors in the Turkish market

penetration process, as shown in Table 3 above. According to an interview with the

Indonesian Consulate General in Istanbul, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and

the Indonesian Ministry of Trade collaborated to achieve Indonesia's national interest,

from marketing palm oil commodities to potential markets outside the European Union.

Why can we say that this collaboration has evolved? Each agency or ministry is a political

and policy engine in intra-government cooperation. The distinction between ministries is

no longer relevant in policy formulation, particularly in the economic and political fields.

The main reason is that each agency or ministry has overlapping tasks (Yao et al., 2022).

In theory, each ministry is free to set its agenda and implement policies. Some of their

policy agendas necessitate input from other ministries. The authors contend that the

collaboration between ministries in the Indonesian government is no longer fragmented

but has synergized. As a result of this collaboration, the government's policies are no

longer ambiguous and floaty (Bäck et al., 2022). As a result, the Indonesian

government's diplomacy to enter the Turkish market has evolved. Another diplomatic

practice that has evolved is the involvement of non-state actors in Indonesia's trade

diplomacy.

According to the primary data in this scientific article, the Indonesian government has

been working with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (KADIN) and private palm oil

companies. The Indonesian government invited KADIN and private companies to

participate in trade promotions at the 2019 MUSIAD Expo, Turkish and Indonesian

entrepreneur business forums, and the 2019 KADIN Business Expo in Istanbul. Non-state

actors in this manner include business actors. In terms of work scope, they are in direct

contact with the community to understand human needs thoroughly (Jakobi, 2016). Non-

state actors in diplomacy, for example, are no longer "second class citizens" but have

evolved to become an integral part of the state. Udovič (2011) stated that under the

legal umbrella of trade cooperation between countries, business actors in diplomacy are

involved in promoting trade and building cooperation with business actors in other

countries. Two factors underpin the collaboration of diplomats and business actors in

advancing the country's economic interests. Cooperation among business actors can

contribute foreign exchange to the state treasury. Cooperation among business actors

can improve product competitiveness and access to new markets (Naray, 2011). Looking

at the empirical examples above, the involvement of non-state actors demonstrates that

the Indonesian government’s economic diplomacy practice, particularly in the palm oil

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sector, has evolved. The most difficult challenge for Indonesia in this issue of palm oil

exports is figuring out how to outperform Malaysia. According to an interview with the

Indonesian Consulate General in Istanbul, the Turkish government imposed a 21%

import tariff on Malaysia because the two countries already had a free trade agreement.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian government received a 31% import tariff. As a result, the

Indonesian government has rushed to complete the Indonesia-Turkey Comprehensive

Trade Agreement (IT-CEPA) cooperation to avoid high tariffs on Indonesian exports. As

previously stated, inter-ministerial collaboration is required to overcome this challenge.

The Indonesian Ministry of Trade is a negotiator in developing free trade rules. The

Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was the primary negotiator (Killian, 2021).

Furthermore, the Indonesian government must be able to maximize economic diplomacy

tools like free trade agreements to market its commodities abroad. The free trade

agreement allows Indonesia to make its export commodities known to a larger audience.

For example, Indonesia's exports fell from 203 billion to 176 billion dollars between 2011

and 2014 (Sabaruddin, 2017). As a result, the Indonesian government must work hard

to implement the IT-CEPA agreement as soon as possible so that Indonesian palm oil

export commodities can compete with Malaysian palm oil export commodities. The

Indonesian government must consider other critical points when developing an export

strategy for palm oil diplomacy. The goal is to boost Indonesia's palm oil commodity's

competitiveness in the global market. To boost Indonesian palm oil's competitiveness in

the Turkish market, the Indonesian government must first create a comparative

advantage for the commodity. One approach is to map export commodity products'

quality, benefits, and price(Sudirman, 2016). The Indonesian government can learn

about the advantages of their palm oil products compared to other countries through this

mapping to compete in the Turkish market. Another critical factor is the certification of

this export commodity product in accordance with environmental sustainability norms

and principles (Jose, 2021).

The European Union prohibits using Indonesian palm oil products because they are not

environmentally friendly. The Indonesian government must certify its palm oil before

exporting it to Turkey. In addition to adding value to the product, environmental

certification can foster a positive image of this commodity in the eyes of the public by

demonstrating that Indonesian palm oil products adhere to sustainability principles.

Market mapping is another critical step that the Indonesian government must take.

Market mapping is required for various international trade and foreign investment

policies. The state can determine the level of consumption and basic needs of the

community using this mapping. Of course, companies who want to expand their product

lines require this information as part of their marketing strategy (Côté, Estrin and

Shapiro, 2020). In this case, the export of palm oil to Turkey, the Indonesian government

must provide market intelligence to business actors on the Turkish people's palm oil

needs regularly, as well as continue actively cooperating with business actors in the

economic diplomacy process so that the Turkish people are familiar with Indonesian palm

oil products. It is hoped that through market intelligence strategies and collaboration

between state and business actors, Indonesian palm oil products will be able to compete

with Malaysian products as part of an effort to mitigate the European Union's ban on

palm oil.

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4. Conclusion

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' penetration through economic diplomacy can be seen

when the Indonesian Consulate General in Istanbul carefully conducts trade promotions

through business forums of the two countries to bring exporters and importers of palm

oil together. This step can be considered as one of the first steps in the increasing

performance of Indonesia's economic diplomacy to introduce palm oil more

comprehensively to importers. The Indonesian Consulate General in Istanbul also

conducted external consultations with the cooperation of private sectors such as

consultants and think tanks to map potential Turkish companies for Indonesian palm oil

exports. Economic diplomacy has also taken a more mature form, only Policy

Management that is currently in the indication of traditional level; Trade Promotion and

Investment Promotion are at the niche-focus level, and even two other forms – External

Economic Management and the Role of Non-state Actors, are at the evolving level. Indeed

this is a leap for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as breaking the assumption that

the traditional diplomacy paradigm still adheres to the general practice of Indonesia's

diplomacy. However, there needs to be careful attention because, in the Turkish market,

tariff barriers that impose on Indonesian exporters a higher price than Malaysia still exist.

Other things to keep in mind are reassessing and recertifying Indonesian palm oil’s

environmental and societal footprint following the global sustainability principles. Market

mapping is also necessary to overcome current barriers imposed by any market. These

will surely help penetration Indonesian palm oil to an even larger market.

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