Indonesia's government will keep its palm oil and cocoa bean export tax unchanged in June at 17.5 percent and 10 percent respectively, a trade ministry official said on Friday. The base export price for crude palm oil (CPO), which is used to calculate the export tax in the world's largest producer of the vegetable oil, will be set at $1,075 a tonne, said Deddy Saleh, director general of foreign trade at the Indonesian trade ministry.
The palm oil tax aims to ensure domestic requirements are met in Southeast Asia's biggest economy and to reduce volatility in local cooking oil prices. Trade ministry and industry officials meet every month to decide the tax rate for the following month, using the average spot CPO prices in Rotterdam in the preceding 30 days as a reference price. Indonesia is expected to produce 21-23 million tonnes of palm oil this year, which is then used in products such as food, cosmetics, tyres and biofuels.