INDONESIA has no plan to change rules mandating palm oil exporters sell a portion of their output to the domestic market, a senior official said on Monday (Jul 17), as the country prepares for full nationwide implementation of its B35 programme.

Exporters in Indonesia, the world’s biggest palm oil producer, currently can only ship palm oil four times the amount that they sell domestically.

There was no plan to change this ratio, M Firman Hidayat, a senior official with the coordinating ministry of maritime affairs, which also oversees rules on natural resource exports, told Reuters.

Starting Aug 1, Indonesia will fully implement a mandatory 35 per cent palm oil blend in biodiesel – its B35 programme – which would be the world’s highest mandatory mix of palm oil in biodiesel.

B35 was launched in February, but authorities gave some leniency and allowed a grace period of until the end of July for some regions where infrastructure was inadequate for the higher blend.

Before B35, Indonesia’s mandatory biodiesel blend was 30 per cent palm oil content. REUTERS

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