I

ndonesia, the world's biggest palm oil producer, aims to increase the share of the local palm oil futures price in the calculation of export reference price of the commodity.

The export reference price, the government's own price version, is a necessary benchmark for the government to determine the export tax rate levied on local palm oil every month. Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan said on Tuesday that the government would increase the share to more than 50 percent of the total current price in weeks to come.

Indonesia currently only controls around 33 percent of overall reference price in the world palm oil market when local producers make futures contracts with their foreign buyers.

Remaining shares are controlled by the prices set at the commodity exchanges in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Rotterdam, the Netherlands. 'Later, the price will better reflect our interest as the largest producer of the commodity,' Gita told reporters.

If successful, the measure would also be applied in the country's top commodities, such as rubber and tin, to determine the export tax of each commodity, he added.

Palm oil exports are estimated to slightly expand by around 5 percent to 5.95 million tons in the April-June period from the first quarter as international demand continues to face intense pressure from the slow global economic recovery. During the January-March period, palm oil exports surged higher than the industry's expectation at 29.45 percent to 5.67 million tons on the back of a moderate rise in demand, according to temporary data issued by the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki).