Astra Agro's CPO production rises 26.2% in 1H

JAKARTA: PT Astra Agro Lestaris crude palm oil production reached 594,163 tons, a 26.2% growth, in the first six months this year compared to the same period last year, driven by higher fresh fruit bunch output.In its investor bulletin of July edition, the company said that the output volume of fresh fruit bunch (FFB) rose 20.2% from 1.82 million tons in first half of 2010 to 2.19 million tons in the first half this year. As a result, FFB yield during this period improved by 15.7%, from 8.59 tons per hectare to 9.94 tons per hectare.Sumatra contributed 41.7% or 913.985 tons to the total FFB production in the first semester of 2011, whilst Kalimantan and Sulawesi shared 38.2% and 20.1%, respectively.The AALI-coded stock declined 0.43% or IDR100 to IDR22,900 at the Jakarta Stock Exchange as of 3.50 p.m. local time. (NOM)