REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Indonesian Vice Minister of Trade, Bayu Krisnamurthi, said government was seeking the right policy for export duty of crude palm oil (CPO). "We expect new balance," Krisnamurthi said last weekend.
The current export duty of Indonesian CPO for November is nine percent. The number is decreasing compared to October and September, which was 13.5 percent.
The Vice Minister believes that the price of CPO will be increasing soon. The current phenomenon of CPO declining price, he said, was only temporary.
He also said that government made a smart move by drafting export duty for CPO based on market dynamics. Malaysia's measure that also slashed export duty, he said, pushed the price of CPO. "The demand is decreasing. Thus, we must control the supply," he said.
Indonesia and Malaysia will soon hold a meeting to discuss the quota restriction scheme of CPO export. Vice Minister of Agriculture, Rusman Heriawan, said the export restriction was important because Indonesia and Malaysia were the biggest producers of CPO.