Indonesia’s palm oil industry becomes investment magnet

Indonesia’s palm oil sector attracted IDR52.7 trillion, or approximately $3.2 billion, in investment during the first nine months of this year, with the money going into enabling the country to capture more value out of its top commodity, the country’s Ministry of Investment reported.

Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani said palm oil was the third largest investment recipient, following nickel processing (IDR136.1 trillion) and copper (IDR61.2 trillion).

Palm oil-related investments have been witnessing quarterly growth. About IDR21 trillion in fresh investments went into Indonesia’s palm oil downstream sector in the third quarter of 2025 alone, up from IDR16.4 trillion seen in the second quarter and nearly IDR15.3 trillion in the first quarter.

According to Rosan, the figures were not mere pledges but actually reflected how much money the businesses had actually spent.

The archipelago nation exported IDR16.66 billion IDR worth of crude palm oil and processed products between January and August this year, soaring 35.23% year-on-year, data by the Central Statistics Agency showed.

The country attracted over IDR1.43 quadrillion in overall investments between January and September, 55.1% of which came from local investors.

Tags: Indonesia, investment, palm oil