Office of Agricultural Affairs – Foreign Agricultural Affairs
Embassy of the United States of America in Indonesia

Indonesia Raises Palm Exports Levy

ID2025-0022 – On May 14, 2025, Indonesia raised export levies for most palm oil products, from 7.5 percent to 10 percent for crude products and up to 9.5 percent for refined products. The levy increases are meant to sustain the new B40 blend mandate program.

Oilseeds and Products Update

Id2025-0007 – Indonesia’s palm oil export estimates for 2024/25 are lowered due to the rollout of the new B40 Biodiesel mandate which is expected to raise domestic industrial palm demand by 2 percent. The expansion of the government’s Free Nutritious Meals Program is projected to increase demand for soy-based foods as well as soy-based feed ingredients to fuel increased domestic production of animal protein for the program in 2024/25. Imports of soybean and soybean meal accelerated in the first two months of 2024/25 as prices softened.

Cotton and Products Update

ID2024-0050 – The Indonesian milling industry continuously faced significant challenges during 2023/24 which is estimated to continue posing some impact to 2024/25. Slowing demand from export destination countries and fierce competition from cheaper imported products in the domestic market have forced some textile and products manufacturers to take efficiency measures. Indonesian cotton imports and consumption in 2024/25 are forecast to decrease to 1.8 million bales and 1.75 million bales respectively. The declines are due to less demand from the export market and increased competition in the domestic market. Due to lower consumption, cotton ending stocks in 2024/25 are forecast to increase 10.6 percent from 2023/24.

Grain and Feed Update

ID2024-0045 – Indonesia’s 2024/25 wheat imports are forecast to decline 8 percent from 2023/24, when higher demand from feed mills, consumption of wheat flour-based food from major events in early 2024, and demand for cheaper alternatives to rice drove wheat imports up to new record highs. With larger production, rice imports in 2024/25 are expected to fall sharply from 2023/24, when the national logistics agency tendered to offset the smaller crop. Increased corn production in 2024/25 will reduce the volume of imports, although feed and wet milling demand remains strong.

Oilseeds and Products Update

ID2024-0048 – Indonesia’s B40 biodiesel blending mandate program, which is expected to roll out in 2025, is projected to increase palm oil use by 3 percent to 22 million metric tons in 2024/25. Soybean consumption recovered in 2023/24 as soybean retail prices continue to decrease. Weak performance in the feed mill industry reduced 2023/24 soybean meal use lower than previously expected. Due to lower prices, Indonesia’s imports of U.S. soybean meal rose an estimated 43 percent to 167,000 MT in 2023/24.

Coffee Semi-annual

ID2024-0043 – Overall, Indonesia’s total 2024/25 coffee production rose by approximately 2.4 million bags from the previous year. However, post revised down this 2024/25 production estimate 8 percent from the previous report’s estimate to 10 million bags as robusta crop recovery from severe weather impacts in 2023/24 underperformed expectations. Green bean exports for 2024/25 are also revised down from the previous report 13 percent to 5.2 million on lower-than-expected exportable supplies. However, 2024/25 exports are still 18 percent higher than 2023/24 exports due to overall increased supply and improved demand from several international markets. The United States is expected to remain the largest destination market for Indonesian coffee green bean exports.

Dairy and Products Annual

ID2024-0038 – The signature campaign promise of the newly sworn-in Prabowo administration, the Free Nutritious Meals Program, will be a large driver of increased demand over the next five years as the program aims to provide milk to over 82 million beneficiaries daily by 2029. Indonesian 2024 dairy demand is projected to rebound back to 2022 levels at 4.2 million metric tons and increase to 5.3 million metric tons in 2025 due to the additional drinking milk consumption increase to meet the Government of Indonesia’s 2025 target for the Free Nutritious Meals Program. The new administration will also be actively pushing for increased milk production through the importation of a target 1 million dairy cattle from various countries over the next five years.

Biofuels Annual

ID2024 – 0018 – Indonesia’s fuel grade ethanol consumption remains small and localized in 2024, a year after the restart of the ethanol program. The formation of a taskforce for sugarcane expansion is meant to advance Indonesia’s self-sufficiency goals in sugar and bioethanol. Biodiesel production is projected to rise by 3 percent to 13 billion liters in 2024 on expected higher diesel use combined with the government-mandated 35-percent blending rate. Combined palm oil mill effluent (POME) and palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) exports remain high on continued demand from overseas markets, lower export levies relative to crude palm oil, and a lack of incentives for local refiners to use biodiesel feedstocks other than crude palm oil.

Indonesia Simplifies Palm Oil Export Levies in Response to Decreasing CPO Exports

ID2024-0025 – Indonesia introduced a new, simplified set of export levies for palm oil products, effective September 21, 2024, amidst decreasing crude palm oil (CPO) exports due to competition from other edible oils. Most of the new levies for palm oil exports will be reduced to between 3 percent to 7.5 percent of the reference price which the Government of Indonesia sets monthly. Under the new set of levies, the export levy for waste product palm oil mill effluent (POME) is expected to increase to be on par with the levy for CPO. In addition, the export levy for used cooking oil (UCO) would also increase.

Indonesian Quarantine Agency Notifies WTO on Requirements to Submit Prior Notice for the Export of All Agricultural Commodities

ID2024-0023 – On July 4, 2024, the Indonesian Quarantine Agency (IQA) notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of their plans to issue a new regulation regarding Quarantine Documents and Seals under notification number G/SPS/N/IDN/149. The draft regulation has notable provisions which require that prior to a shipment’s departure from the port of embarkation, exporters of all agricultural commodities are required to submit “prior notice,” a document that includes requirements such as a Certificate of Analysis (COA) and information regarding a product’s GMO status, for every shipment. The IQA is accepting comments until September 2, 2024, and plans to provide further information in a public dissemination session close to the comment period deadline sometime in late August.