Indonesia to tax crude palm oil exports for first time in three years

• The last time Indonesia imposed a tax on crude palm oil exports was in May 2017.
• Indonesia imposes a levy of up to $50 on palm exports if prices are above $619.
• Tax on cocoa exports remains unchanged at 5pc in February.

JAKARTA: Indonesia will tax crude palm oil exports from February for the first time in nearly three years, its trade ministry said on Wednesday.

The world's biggest producer of palm oil will impose an export tax of $18 per tonne of crude palm oil as reference prices have increased 15.1pc from $729.7 per tonne in January to $839.7 in February, the ministry's director general, Indrasari Wisnu Warshana said in a statement.

"At this moment, the reference price of crude palm oil has increased to more than $750. Because of that, the authorities must impose a tax of $18 for the period of February 2020," he said.

The last time Indonesia imposed a tax on crude palm oil exports was in May 2017.

Other than an export tax, Indonesia imposes a levy of up to $50 on palm exports if prices are above $619.

Tax on cocoa exports remains unchanged at 5pc in February.