Indonesia to curb palm oil exports ahead of Eid holiday

  • Spanish Market: Agriculture, Biofuels, Chemicals
  • 06/02/23

Indonesia will introduce fresh curbs on vegetable oil exporters to boost domestic cooking oil availability by 50pc ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of April, a government official said.

Palm oil producers and refiners will have to temporarily surrender two-thirds of the export quotas they currently hold after having already sold a proportion of their cooking oil production to the domestic market under Indonesia's domestic market obligation (DMO).

The government will return these allowances in stages, starting from after Eid al-Fitr holiday on 1 May, coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said at a virtual stakeholder meeting on 6 February.

In the meantime, exporters will be allocated export permits on a monthly basis based on their past sales and policy compliance. Allocations for February have already been announced, a market participant said at the meeting, but these were not publicly available.

Sellers must still fulfil the current 6:1 DMO requirement to be able to export their permitted volumes — meaning they must sell 1,000t within the country before they can export 6,000t.

The DMO and domestic sales price for cooking oil will likely be adjusted again in future to stabilise the domestic market, Pandjaitan said.


Related news posts

Argus illuminates the markets by putting a lens on the areas that matter most to you. The market news and commentary we publish reveals vital insights that enable you to make stronger, well-informed decisions. Explore a selection of news stories related to this one.

Baltimore to temporarily open 4th shipping channel


24/04/24
24/04/24

Baltimore to temporarily open 4th shipping channel

Cheyenne, 24 April (Argus) — The Port of Baltimore is preparing to open another, deeper temporary shipping channel this week so at least some of the vessels that have been stranded at the port can depart. The new 35-ft deep Fort McHenry Limited Access Channel is scheduled to be open to commercially essential vessels from 25 April until 6am ET on 29 April or 30 April "if weather adversely impacts vessel transits," according to a US Coast Guard Marine Safety Information Bulletin. The channel will then be closed again until 10 May. The channel also will have a 300-ft horizontal clearance and 214-ft vertical clearance. This will be the fourth and largest channel opened since the 26 March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The Unified Command has said that the new limited access channel should allow passage of about 75pc of the types of vessels that typically move through the waterway. Vessels that have greater than 60,000 long tons (60,963 metric tonnes) of displacement will likely not be able to move through the channel and those between 50,000-60,000 long tons of displacement "will be closely evaluated" for transit. There were seven vessels blocked from exiting the port as of 27 March, including three dry bulk carriers, one vehicle carrier and one tanker, according to the US Department of Transportation. Two of the bulk carriers at berth in Baltimore are Kamsarmax-sized coal vessels, data from analytics firm Kpler show. The US Army Corps of Engineers still expects to reopen the Port of Baltimore's permanent 700-foot wide, 50-foot deep channel by the end of May. The Key Bridge collapsed into the water late last month when the 116,851dwt container ship Dali lost power and crashed into a bridge support column. Salvage teams have been working to remove debris from the water and containers from the ship in order to clear the main channel. By Courtney Schlisserman Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Cepsa supplies HVO bunker fuel in Algeciras


24/04/24
24/04/24

Cepsa supplies HVO bunker fuel in Algeciras

London, 24 April (Argus) — Spanish refiner and bunker fuel supplier Cepsa has recently delivered 150t of 100pc hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) by truck to the Ramform Hyperion at the port of Algeciras. The supply follows market participants reporting firmer buying interest for HVO as a marine fuel from ferry lines in the Mediterranean in recent sessions. The supplied HVO is said to be of class II, with used cooking oil (UCO) as the feedstock. Cepsa added that the supply was completed in cooperation with Bunker Holding subsidiary Glander International Bunkering, and could bring about a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction of up to 90pc compared with conventional fuel oil. Cepsa will also look to obtain capability to supply marine biodiesel blends exceeding 25pc biodiesel content by the end of the year, delegates heard at the International Bunker Conference (IBC) 2024 in Norway. This also follows plans by Cepsa to build a 500,000 t/yr HVO plant in Huelva , set to start production in the first half of 2026. Argus assessed the price of class II HVO on a fob Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) basis at an average of $1,765.54/t in April so far, a premium of $906.41/t to marine gasoil (MGO) dob Algeciras prices in the same month. By Hussein Al-Khalisy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

New ISO 8217 eyes wider scope for alternative fuels


24/04/24
24/04/24

New ISO 8217 eyes wider scope for alternative fuels

London, 24 April (Argus) — The 7th edition of ISO 8217, to be published in the second quarter of this year, will outline a broader integration of marine biodiesel blending, delegates heard at the International Bunker Conference (IBC) 2024 in Norway. Tim Wilson, principal specialist fuels of Lloyds Register's fuel oil bunkering analysis and advisory service (FOBAS), presented on the upcoming iteration of the ISO 8217 marine fuel specification standard, which will be released at IBC 2024. The new edition will incorporate specification standards for a wide range of fatty acid methyl ester (Fame)-based marine biodiesel blends up to B100, 100pc hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), as well as synthetic and renewable marine fuels. This will also include additional clauses to cover a wider scope, and briefly touch on biodiesel specifications that do not entirely align with road biodiesel EN-14214 specifications. This follows the emergence of widening price spreads for marine biodiesel blends because of specification differences and the lack of a marine-specific standard for the blends. The new edition of ISO 8217 is also expected to remove the limit of 7pc Fame when blended with distillate marine fuels such as marine gasoil (MGO) which was in place in the previous ISO 8217:2017. Other changes to distillate marine biodiesel blends include changes to the minimum Cetane Index, oxidation stability alignment to be connected to either ISO 15751 for blends comprising 2pc or more of Fame biodiesel and ISO 12205 for blends comprising a Fame component of under 2pc. Cold-filter plugging point (CFPP) properties will be determined by the vessel's fuel storage tanks' heating capabilities and requirements will be set in place to report the CFPP for distillate marine biodiesel grades, according to the new edition of the marine fuel specification standard. Wilson said that a minimum kinematic viscosity at 50°C will be in place for various forms of residual bunker fuel oil along with a viscosity control alerting suppliers to inform buyers of the exact viscosity in the supplied fuel. He said they have seen delivered fuel viscosity come in at much lower levels than ordered by the buyers, which was the reasoning behind the viscosity control monitoring requirement. By Hussein Al-Khalisy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Peninsula eyes B100 marine fuel supply in Barcelona


24/04/24
24/04/24

Peninsula eyes B100 marine fuel supply in Barcelona

London, 24 April (Argus) — Marine fuel supplier and trader Peninsula has added a chemical tanker to its fleet in Barcelona, with a view to supply the port with B100 marine biodiesel. Aalborg meets chemical tanker regulations under the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)'s International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Annex II. This means the tanker can supply marine biodiesel blends containing up to 100pc fatty acid methyl ester (Fame), which conventional oil tankers are unable to do . Oil tankers and barges are limited to up to 25pc Fame. Peninsula added that the Aalborg is also used to supply conventional fossil bunker fuels such as very-low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) and marine gasoil (MGO). It is yet to complete a B100 delivery in Barcelona. Market participants pointed to limited demand for B100 in the Mediterranean, but regulatory changes such as the introduction of FuelEU maritime next year may help to support demand for marine biodiesel blends. By Hussein Al-Khalisy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more