LATEST NEWS

Indonesia crude palm oil tax doubles

4th April, 2008

Indonesia has doubled taxes on crude palm oil (CPO) exports to curb inflation. CPO export taxes were raised to 20% with effect from 1 April in order to control further price rises in domestic cooking oil values.

The base price of CPO has also increased to $1,196 a tonne (€761), up from $988 a tonne in March.

Indonesia is the largest CPO producer in the world and the domestic cooking oil shortages have been blamed on palm plantation owners who export the bulk of their production.CPO is used in as feedstock for a variety of food, biodiesel, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

There has been strong inflationary pressure on cooking oil due to volatility in vegetable oil numbers on the back of a global surge in commodity prices and increased buying interest from India and China.

Major fatty acid producers in Asia include IOI Oleochemical, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, Musim Mas, Natural Oleochemicals and Cognis Oleochemicals.