Indonesian palm oil exports down 24% in January

Indonesia started 2025 with a significant drop in exports of its main commodity, palm oil, the Jakarta Globe reported, citing data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

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. Total Indonesian palm oil exports in January 2024 amounted to $1.72 billion, down 16.68% from a year earlier.

This Southeast Asian country sold 2.06 million tons of its CPO and its derivatives in foreign markets in January 2024. Exports gradually declined, reaching 1.65 million tons in December 2024, eventually dropping to 1.27 million tons in January this year.

“Our CPO and derivatives exports are declining markets of India, Pakistan, China and many others,” BPS acting chief Amalia Adiningar Vidyasanthi told a press conference on Monday.

BPS data shows CPO exports in Indonesia’s major markets are experiencing double-digit declines. Southeast Asia’s largest economy shipped just 59,500 tons of CPO and derivatives to India in January 2025, down by as much as 43.65% from December 2024. In January 2024, exports to India totaled nearly 4.3 million tons.

Indonesian palm oil exports to Pakistan in January decreased by 52.92% from the previous month to only 176,000 tons. Indonesian CPO sales to China recorded the largest drop compared to other markets. CPO exports to China totaled only 39.6 thousand tons in the first month of 2025, down 76.93% from December 2024.

“However, CPO and its derivatives are still one of our major non-oil and gas exports,” Amalia said. About 7.04% of Indonesia’s exports in January were accounted for by palm oil trade.

Indonesia is the world’s largest palm oil producer along with its nearest neighbor Malaysia. The two ASEAN countries account for 85% of the world’s global supply. Indonesia currently allocates a portion of its palm oil for mandatory B40 biodiesel blending. The country plans to increase the mandate to 50% next year in an attempt to reduce diesel imports.

Tags: Indonesia, palm oil