Indonesia to limit size of new oil palm estates

JAKARTA: Indonesia is working on a regulation to restrict to 100,000ha the plantation area of new private palm oil firms, a government official said, as the world's top producer of the edible oil seeks to open up the industry to smaller players.

The law, an amendment to a 2007 regulation, would exempt state-owned firms and cooperatives and would not affect companies that already had permits, said Gamal Nasir, director general of plantations at the agriculture ministry.