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B50 biofuel goal may cause palm oil deficit
President-elect Prabowo Subianto’s plan to raise the share of crude palm oil in biofuel could cause a palm oil deficit in the country, the Indonesian Palm Oil Farmers Association (Apkasindo) has warned.
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Bamboo raft operators row their passenger past a palm oil plantation on a flooded road connecting Jambi and Suak Kandis in Pulau Tigo district, Muaro Jambi regency, Jambi, on Feb. 25, 2024. (Antara/Wahdi Septiawan)
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resident-elect Prabowo Subianto’s plan to roll out the use of a 50-percent biodiesel (B50) could cause a palm oil deficit in the country, the Indonesian Palm Oil Farmers Association (Apkasindo) has warned.
Representatives of the incoming government have stated their intention to push for a higher mandatory biofuel share in diesel and gasoline blends. They aim to roll out the use of B50 and a 10-percent bioethanol fuel (E10) by 2029.
B50 is a blend consisting of 50 percent palm oil-derived fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and 50 percent fossil fuel diesel.
The move, Apkasindo chairman Gulat Manurung said, was expected to drive crude palm oil (CPO) demand for fuel to 3.25 million tonnes a year and cause a CPO supply deficit of 1.2 million tonnes.
“This means we won’t be able to export. If there are no exports, there’s no foreign exchange,” he said in Jakarta on Monday, as reported by Kumparan.
Read also: Prabowo's biofuel plans face major challenges
Indonesia allocated 13.14 million kiloliters of diesel fuel for its mandatory 35 percent biodiesel (B35) program in the January-December period last year, data from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry show.
