The Jakarta Post
As Indonesia, the world’s top palm oil producer and exporter, commits to fighting the European Union’s ban on the use of palm oil for its member countries’ biodiesel, it may find solace near home.President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has asked stakeholders to speed up the mandatory proportion of diesel blended with crude palm oil (CPO) from 20 (B20) to 30 percent (B30) by January next year, and 50 percent (B50) by the end of 2020, hence pushing up the domestic use of palm oil.Coincidentally, China will remove import tariffs for palm oil in a move that will open up new markets for Indonesian palm oil.“We need to anticipate pressures on CPO [by driving up] domestic demand and so that we can have good bargaining positions, whether with the European Union or other parties that try to weaken our bargaining position,” President Jokowi told a press brie...