Mandates in Indonesia to curb palm oil supplies

Implementation of higher biodiesel mandates in Indonesia, the world’s biggest palm oil producer, is likely to tighten supplies of the vegetable oil, a leading industry analyst said on Tuesday. Indonesia currently has a mandatory 35% blend of palm oil-based fuel in biodiesel and is seeking to ramp up to biodiesel containing 40% palm oilto cut its energy imports. Theplan, if implemented, could see biodieselconsumption rise to16 million kilolitres next year. The move would involve the additional use of 1.5 to 1.7 million metric tons of palm oil, leading to lower export volumes, Oil World senior analyst David Mielke told a palm oil conference in Kuala Lumpur. “In a situation where we don’t have enough oil, Indonesia increasing the mandate by 5% would make overall supply tight,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of the event. “So for the consumer worldwide, it would be catastrophic because there would be even less oil available.” B40 will boost Indonesia’s palm oil use for biodiesel to ...