In recent years, China and countries along the Belt and Road actively carried out cooperation in the field of agriculture for regional food security. China has signed agricultural and fishery cooperation documents with more than 80 countries, and more than 650 agricultural investment cooperation projects have been carried out in countries along the Belt and Road. Affected by COVID-19, extreme weather, geographical conflicts, and other factors, the global food industry chain and supply chain have been impacted, making it imperative to maintain regional food security through agricultural cooperation in countries along the Belt and Road.
Case: Julong Project
Type: Agriculture (Palm Oil)
Country: Indonesia
Project brief:
In 2006, following the Chinese government’s call for ‘Going out’, Julong, a privately-owned enterprise focusing on palm oil-related businesses, officially launched its first foreign investment in Indonesia’s palm oil plantation. This Tianjin-based company has planted 60,000 hectares of oil palm trees, with a total investment of nearly USD 1.3 billion. The plantation has recruited nearly 10,000 locals, including employees and part-time workers, and only has 70 Chinese personnel in the plantation. The China-Indonesia Julong Agricultural Industry Cooperation Zone with five parks on Kalimantan Island was promoted as an economic and trade cooperation zone in August 2016. Today, the Julong Group owns 11 palm oil plantations in Indonesia (mainly in Kalimantan), with a total area of nearly 200,000 hectares[1]. Julong has also expanded to palm oil processing and logistics businesses in multiple sites in Indonesia and owns three crushing mills, two river port logistics warehousing bases, and several other plants under construction.
Image: Julong Agricultural Industrial Cooperation Zone. [photo: China Council for the Promotion of International Trade]
[1]Tan, X., & Yeremia, A. (2022). The socio-environmental challenges for China’s palm oil business in Indonesia. Melbourne Asia Review. 10.37839/MAR2652-550X11.7