Fadhil Hasan, Executive Director of the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (Gapki), informed that Indonesia's exports of crude palm oil (CPO) and its derivatives (including biodiesel and oleo-chemicals) reached 1.74 million tons in July 2016, down around 8 percent from the 1.89 million tons that were exported one month earlier. The decline in exports is attributed to rising CPO consumption at home and easing demand in several key export markets.

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Production of crude palm oil (CPO) in Indonesia is expected to decline 5 percent (y/y) to 29.6 million tons from a realization of 31.2 million tons in the preceding year. At the start of the year the Agriculture Ministry of Indonesia targeted CPO output around 31-32 million tons in full-year 2016. However, lower-than-targeted CPO production is the result of a looming strong La Nina weather phenomenon (which brings wetter-than-usual conditions to Southeast Asia) and the strong El Nino earlier this year (bringer droughts to Southeast Asia).

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Stakeholders in the crude palm oil (CPO) industry of Indonesia are pleased seeing the CPO price rising considerably over the past couple of weeks to around 2,500 ringgit (approx. USD $623) per metric ton this week after palm oil futures - traded in Kuala Lumpur - had in fact entered a bear market in July 2016. Meanwhile, the World Bank expects palm oil prices to average USD $650 per ton in 2016, better than USD $623 per ton in 2015 but still a long shot away from USD $851 per ton in 2013 or the peak at USD $1,248 per ton in February 2011.

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Several days ago we reported that Indonesia plans to issue a five-year moratorium on new palm oil plantation concessions in August 2016 through a presidential regulation. This moratorium aims to safeguard a healthy and sustainable environment and may also aim at reducing global criticism on Indonesia's weak governance after the devastating forest fires on Kalimantan and Sumatra as well as the spread of toxic haze to other parts of Southeast Asia between June and October 2015. A government official now says the moratorium also covers existing concessions.

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The government of Indonesia plans to issue a five-year moratorium on new palm oil plantation concessions through a presidential instruction. For Indonesian President Joko Widodo it is one of the top priorities to safeguard a healthy and sustainable environment, especially after international criticism on Indonesia's weak environmental policies heightened due to the flaring up of devastating forest fires on Kalimantan and Sumatra as well as the spread of toxic haze to other parts of Southeast Asia between June and October 2015.

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A study published in Scientific Reports, conducted by scientists at King’s College London in cooperation with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), says the forest fires on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan that occurred between June and October 2015 released some 11.3 million tons of carbon each day (a figure that exceeds the 8.9 million tons of daily carbon emissions in the European Union). Last year's man-made forest fires and haze in Indonesia are among the worst natural disasters ever recorded.

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An official at Indonesia's Trade Ministry said Southeast Asia's largest economy is to scrap the export tax on crude palm oil (CPO) again. In July 2016 the export tax will be lowered to zero, from USD $3 per ton in the preceding month, due to sliding palm oil prices. The Indonesian government expects palm oil prices to fall in July because after the Ramadan month and subsequent Idul Fitri celebrations are finished demand for the edible is set to decline.

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Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla stated that he does not agree with Singapore's attempts to take legal action against those Indonesian individuals and companies that are responsible for the forest fires on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan that resulted in the severe haze that spread to Singapore (and other parts of Southeast Asia) in 2015. The toxic smog caused economic costs in Indonesia's neighboring countries. Kalla said Indonesia will not support Singapore in this case as the offense occurred in Indonesia, not in Singapore. As such, it would be an attack on Indonesia's sovereignty.

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San Francisco-based environmental organization Rainforest Action Network (RAN) released a report last week that claims Indonesian workers - including children - at North Sumatran palm oil plantations are being exploited. On two palm oil plantations owned by PP London Sumatra Indonesia, a unit of the Indonesian Indofood Group, researchers of RAN found evidence of child labor, unethically low wages, as well as other forms of worker exploitation. The report also links American multinational food and beverage firm PepsiCo Inc's products to the exploitation.

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Palm oil shipments from Indonesia surged 20 percent month-on-month to 2.09 million tons in April 2016 (from 1.74 million tons in the preceding month) according to the latest data from the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (Gapki). Fadhil Hasan, Executive Director of Gapki, said Indonesia's palm oil exports are supported by declining edible oil output in several countries. High rainfall in Argentina and Brazil disturbed local soy bean harvests, while the US soybean harvest is weak as well. Furthermore, rapeseed harvests in China, India and the European Union are weak too, hence boosting demand for CPO.

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Although the Indonesian government has already announced that biodiesel subsidies have been raised to IDR 4,000 per liter (from IDR 1,500 per liter in 2014) and bioethanol to IDR 3,000 per liter (from IDR 2,000 last year) - in a move to protect the domestic biofuel industry as production costs exceed market prices amid the low global palm oil prices -, Indonesian biodiesel producers are eager to see the country’s biodiesel price is set based on a different benchmark than the Mean of Platts Singapore (MoPS).

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Malaysia, the world’s second-largest crude palm oil (CPO) producer and exporter, will continue its duty-free export tariff for CPO in January 2015 according to information from the Malaysian customs department. Starting from September 2014 Malaysian authorities have implemented a duty-free CPO export policy in an effort to boost global demand and support international CPO prices (which have fallen nearly 20 percent this year). Indonesia, which has seen duty-free CPO shipments since October 2014, is expected to follow suit.

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Reserves of crude palm oil (CPO) in Indonesia may have declined for a second straight month in October on the back of drought and an increase in exports from Southeast Asia’s largest economy. The delayed impact of drought (which even managed to dry up several rivers in West Kalimantan in October) limited production of CPO in recent weeks. Meanwhile, exports have increased after Indonesia and Malaysia - the world’s two top palm oil producers - scrapped export taxes to boost demand for this commodity.

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Australia's Bureau of Meteorology is increasingly convinced that the world needs to prepare for a new El Niño cycle. According to the institution, the impact of this new cycle will be felt starting from July 2014 and may continue through the winter. Also the European Center for Medium range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) and the US Climate Prediction Center stated that chances of a new El Niño cycle in 2014 are becoming higher, although it is too early to provide an indication of this year's strength of the weather phenomenon.

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Indonesia has the potential to become a global force in the biodiesel industry because of the country’s position as the world’s top producer of crude palm oil (CPO). In 2014, Indonesia’s CPO production is estimated to total 30 million tons. Traditionally, Indonesia exports about 75 percent of its total CPO production, particularly to the giant economies of China and India. As such, this commodity is one of Indonesia's most important foreign exchange earners, apart from coal, in the non-oil and gas sector.

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The Indonesian government is considering to stop exports of crude palm oil (CPO) to Europe from 2014 onwards as domestic CPO demand in Southeast Asia's largest economy is rising, brought on by the country's biofuel industry which is expected to grow 70 percent next year to 5 million tons. To curtail oil imports, the government stimulates the production of crude palm oil-based biofuel by raising the mandatory content of fatty acid methyl ester (which is made from palm oil) in biodiesel products from 7.5 percent to 10 percent.

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Usage of biodiesel for transportation in Indonesia is expected to reach 7.2 million kiloliter by 2015, a sharp increase from 600,000 kiloliter in the first nine months of 2013. State-owned Pertamina is expected to supply the extra 6.6 million kiloliter of biodiesel. The reason why the Indonesian government is eager to develop palm-based biofuel for transportation purposes is to reduce the country's reliance on the import of expensive diesel fuel. Imports of fuels and gas are the foremost reason that Indonesia is coping with a wide current account deficit.

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In order to curb imports of oil, the government of Indonesia intends to stimulate the production of crude palm oil-based biofuel by increasing the mandatory content of fatty acid methyl ester (which is made from palm oil) in biodiesel products from 7.5 percent to 10 percent. Through this policy, the government claims to be able to save up to USD $3 billion as it needs less fuel imports. Fuel imports totaled USD $5.8 billion in the first six months of 2013 and form a major cause for the USD $9.8 billion current account deficit in Q2-2013.

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Indonesia's production of crude palm oil (CPO) in the first six months of 2013 rose 25.64 percent compared to semester I-2012 to 14.7 million tons, which is a little over half of this year's CPO production target. Despite weak global demand for the commodity (accompanied by falling CPO prices), growth was accomplished due to new seeds that became productive and because the total size of Indonesian palm oil estates continues to expand. Productive estates now stand at 9.4 million hectares from 8.7 million hectares last year.

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Indonesian exports of crude palm oil (CPO) in June 2013 grew about 29 percent to 1.62 million ton compared to the same month last year. Although production of CPO in Indonesia slowed down in June, higher demand for Indonesia's CPO is met because there are still sufficient amounts of stockpiles. A high official at the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki) said that stockpiles in 2012 grew to 5 million tons as global demand for the commodity weakened sharply amid international economic turmoil.

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