Indonesia’s palm oil sector appeared to be enjoying better times, with national output rising consistently in the months of July, August and September, the Association of Indonesian Palm Oil Producers (GAPKI) said on Thursday (12/11.)
Crude Palm Oil production stood at 2.85 million tons in July, rose to 4.38 million tons in August and rose further to 4.73 million tons in September, GAPKI said in a release. However, Year-on-year (YoY) up until September, national output this year was still 4,7 percent lower than for the same period last year.
Exports of palm oil products in September reached $1,871 million or up 10 percent from the previous month. Its export value up until September stood at $15,498 YoY compared to $14,458 for the same period last year.
Volume wise, exports in September stood at 2,764,000 tons or up 81,000 ton or three percent from exports in August.
China remains the top export destination for Indonesian palm oil absorbing 645,000 tons in September compared to 618,000 tons in the previous month. Exports to India that month stood at 351,000 tons or stable while to the European Union and Pakistan exports were lower than in August.
Rising exports were posted for Brazil where it rose to 44,000 tons, to Malaysia 39,000 tons and to Russia at 37,000 tons. Exports to Africa stood at 39,000 tons. Interestingly, exports to most African countries were actually down but they were offset by the jump in exports to Kenya that reached 61,000 tons and to South Africa that reached 33,000 tons.
Domestic consumption of palm oil for food showed a consistent rise in the last four months, totaling 667,000 tons until September. The figure, however, was still 15.8 percent lower than for the same period last year.
Oleochemicals domestic consumption tended to remain stable, with September at 15,000 tons, the same level as in August and just 3,000 tons higher than in July, YoY up to September, consumption of palm oil for oleochemicals was 49 percent higher than for the same period in 2019.
Palm oil consumption for biodiesel reached 630,000 tons in September or 54,000 tons up from August. YoY the consumption for biodiesel was 27.2 percent higher than for the same period last year.