In the table below, the new maximum surfaces of plantations is listed according to the type of commodity.

Commodity  
   Maximum Surface
Oil Palm          100.000 ha
Rubber
          20.000 ha 
Coffee           10.000 ha
Cacao           10.000 ha
Cashew Nut           10.000 ha
Pepper            1.000 ha
Clove            1.000 ha
Cotton           20.000 ha
Tea           20.000 ha
Sugarcane          150.000 ha
Coconut           40.000 ha

Source: Investor Daily

The reason behind the limit to plantation sizes is to (re)organize and regulate the local governments' licensing scheme. Due to weak local government management there have been many examples of issued licenses with no clear limit to the size of plantation. This subsequently hurts new investors as well as disturbs the local population that sees many of the surrounding area fall in the hands of certain companies.

The new maximum limit is still quite high as on average most newly issued licenses involve a surface of about 2.000 to 3.000 ha due to the difficulty (red-tape) and costs to obtain land in Indonesia.

The new law is not retrospective, implying that it only applies to new licenses or existing companies that hold a Hak Guna Usaha (HGU or Rights of Exploitation) license which expires after the implementation of the new law (when extending the license they will need to comply with the new rules).

Bahas