Indonesia maintains PKS export tax for January 2026

Spanish Market: Biomass
31/12/25

The Indonesian government has maintained its export tax on palm kernel shells (PKS) at $7/t for January 2026, unchanged from December.

The crude palm oil (CPO) reference price for January is $915.64/t, down from $926.14/t in December, according to the official document released by Indonesia's trade ministry on 29 December. The PKS export tax is linked to the CPO price on a sliding scale, based on the export tax calculation announced by Indonesia's finance ministry in 2017 (see table).

PKS exporters also pay an additional export levy to the national CPO fund at a flat rate of $3/t. This brings the total export tax and levy package for Indonesian PKS to $10/t for January.

Export duties on palm oil products are paid to the treasury, while levies are directed to the government's Oil Palm Plantation Fund Management Agency to subsidize domestic biodiesel blending and replanting initiatives.

Demand for PKS is expected to increase globally beyond key market Japan, which accounts for an average of 92pc of Indonesia's monthly exports. Other markets include South Korean utility GS EPS and Polish biomass utilities seeking cheaper alternatives to wood pellets.

Argus last assessed the price of PKS compliant with Japan's feed-in-tariff requirements at $101.28/t fob east coast Sumatra on 24 December.

By Nadhir Mokhtar

Indonesia PKS tax and levy				$/t
	Export tax	Export levy	Total tax & levy	Monthly CPO benchmark price
Jan '25	10.0	3.0	13	1,059.5
Feb '25	8.0	3.0	11.0	955.4
Mar '25	8.0	3.0	11.0	954.5
April '25	8.0	3.0	11	961.5
May '25	7.0	3.0	10.0	924.5
June '25	6.0	3.0	9.0	856.4
July '25	6.0	3.0	9	877.9
Aug '25	7.0	3.0	10.0	910.9
Sep '25	8.0	3.0	11.0	954.7
Oct '25	8.0	3.0	11.0	963.6
Nov '25	8.0	3.0	11.0	963.8
Dec '25	7.0	3.0	10.0	926.1
Jan '26	7.0	3.0	10.0	915.6
Source: Indonesia finance ministry

Indonesia PKS export tax scale		$/t
Indonesia's monthly CPO benchmark price		Export tax
Up to $680		3.0
$680-730		3.0
$730-780		4.0
$780-830		5.0
$830-880		6.0
$880-930		7.0
$930-980		8.0
$980-1,030		9.0
$1,030-1,080		10.0
$1,080-1,130		11.0
$1,130-1,180		12.0
$1,180-1,230		13.0
$1,230-1,280		13.0
$1,280-1,330		13.0
$1,330-1,380		13.0
$1,380-1,430		13.0
>$1,430		13.0
Source: Indonesia finance ministry

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