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Indonesia, the world's top palm oil producer, began 2025 with a sharp drop in exports of its key commodity, according to the country's Central Statistics Agency.
Exports of Indonesian crude palm oil (CPO) and its derivatives fell 24.1% from $1.89 billion in December 2024 to $1.44 billion in January 2025. Palm oil exports stood at $1.72 billion in January 2024, marking a year-on-year decline of 16.68%.
The Southeast Asian nation shipped 2.06 million tonnes of crude palm oil and its derivatives to overseas markets in the first month of 2024. Export volumes then eased to 1.65 million tonnes in December 2024, before falling further to 1.27 million tonnes the following month.
"Our exports of crude palm oil and its derivatives are declining in markets such as India, Pakistan and China, among others," said Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, acting head of the Central Statistics Agency, at a press conference on Monday.
Agency data show that crude palm oil exports suffered double-digit declines in Indonesia's key markets. Southeast Asia's largest economy shipped just 59,500 tonnes of crude palm oil and its derivatives to India in January 2025, a steep 43.65% drop compared with December 2024 figures. Exports to India in January 2024 had stood at around 4.3 million tonnes.
Indonesian palm oil exports to Pakistan also fell 52.92% month-on-month in January, totalling just 176,100 tonnes. Exports to China recorded the sharpest decline among all markets, totalling only 39,600 tonnes in the first month of 2025, down 76.93% from December 2024.
Nevertheless, Amalia said: "Crude palm oil and its derivatives remained among the largest contributors to our non-oil exports."
Palm oil trade accounted for about 7.04% of Indonesia's non-oil exports in January.
Indonesia is the world's largest palm oil producer, alongside neighbouring Malaysia, with the two countries together accounting for 85% of global supply. Indonesia currently allocates part of its palm oil output to the mandatory B40 blend, a policy requiring biodiesel fuel to contain a mix of 40% palm oil and 60% diesel. The country plans to raise the mandatory palm oil blending ratio to 50% next year in an effort to cut diesel imports.
Source: Bernama