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Key points:
Record palm oil export volumes
Exports rose by 52%, or 896,024 tonnes, climbing from 1.73 million tonnes in November, marking the highest export level in 18 months based on ITS data. Indonesian exports became more attractive after tax cuts and improved price competitiveness for palm oil relative to competing oils.
India and the Indian subcontinent led the rise in shipments, with volumes exported to the region more than doubling to 916,341 tonnes compared with 398,162 tonnes in November, with nearly half of exports heading to India.
Palm oil exports to India and the Indian subcontinent
Indonesia exported 421,826 tonnes of palm oil to India in December, a sharp increase after November exports of just 65,900 tonnes. Shipments to India consisted mainly of crude palm oil at 345,800 tonnes, a jump of 315,500 tonnes from the 30,300 tonnes recorded in November, while RBD palm olein exports also rose to 45,000 tonnes from 6,200 tonnes the previous month.
Elsewhere, Indonesia's exports to Pakistan also rose by 128,277 tonnes from November to reach 365,965 tonnes in December, with volumes consisting mostly of RBD palm olein at 220,490 tonnes and RBD palm oil at 140,475 tonnes.
Palm oil exports from Indonesia to Bangladesh also rose in December to 125,550 tonnes from 94,574 tonnes the previous month, with the entire volume made up of RBD palm olein.
Global trends in palm oil exports
Indonesia also shipped more palm oil to the African continent in December, with volumes reaching 181,740 tonnes, up 126,032 tonnes from November, with nearly 60% of exports heading to Kenya at 65,100 tonnes and South Africa at 39,800 tonnes.
Similarly, exports to other markets such as China, the European Union, the Americas, and Asia and Oceania rose in December, with the exception of the Middle East, where shipments fell by 17,816 tonnes to 255,419 tonnes due to lower exports to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
This came despite a jump in shipments to Egypt, where exports rose by 45,375 tonnes from November to reach 114,500 tonnes, with most of the volume made up of RBD palm olein at 34,210 tonnes and RBD palm oil at 68,070 tonnes.
For Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the decline in volumes stemmed mainly from lower RBD palm oil exports, with combined shipments of RBD palm oil to the two countries totalling 15,905 tonnes in December, down 48,534 tonnes from 64,439 tonnes in November.
Annual palm oil export performance
The jump in Indonesia's palm oil exports in December follows a decline in the December CPO reference price, which lowered combined export taxes on crude palm oil by around $54 per tonne from November, while taxes on RBD palm olein fell by $48 per tonne.
This gave a boost to Indonesia's price competitiveness against its neighbouring producer, Malaysia, with the average price of Indonesian RBD palm olein for December shipments about $23 lower than its Malaysian counterpart on an FOB basis, according to Fastmarkets assessments.
Sellers who anticipated the export tax cut also shifted shipments from November to December, contributing to the sharp increase.
Palm oil was also generally trading at a lower price compared with its closest competitor, soybean oil, which helped improve its appeal, with the average spread for December shipments of crude palm oil versus soybean oil to India at $71 per tonne, based on Fastmarkets assessments, widening from $50 per tonne for November shipments.
However, despite the significant jump in December exports, total palm oil exports for 2025 were only slightly higher than the previous year at 24.35 million tonnes, up 1.9% from the 23.896 million tonnes exported in 2024, according to ITS data.
Competitiveness and market dynamics
Shipments to the EU, India and the Indian subcontinent, and the Americas fell over the course of the year, while higher exports to Africa, Asia and Oceania, China and the Middle East softened the overall decline.
In terms of product type, Indonesia exported lower volumes of crude palm oil and RBD palm oil in 2025 compared with 2024, with CPO volumes at 2.24 million tonnes, down 295,488 tonnes, and RBD palm oil exports at 4.73 million tonnes, down 225,773 tonnes.
PFAD exports rose to 1.09 million tonnes, up 46% year on year, while RBD palm olein exports rose to 10.1 million tonnes, marking a 7.4% increase over 2024 levels.
China remained the largest destination market for Indonesian RBD palm olein, with volumes reaching 2.02 million tonnes, up from 1.84 million tonnes in 2024, while Malaysia received the largest volume of PFAD from Indonesia at 274,783 tonnes, up 112,433 tonnes from 162,350 tonnes the previous year.
Finally, Indonesia also exported 37,690 tonnes of coconut oil in December according to ITS figures, an increase of 15,014 tonnes from 22,946 tonnes in November, with total coconut oil exports for 2025 reaching 396,993 tonnes, slightly below the 400,216 tonnes recorded a year earlier.
Source: Fastmarkets