Indonesia's 2026 palm oil exports expected to reach around 35mil tonnes

NUSA DUA: Indonesia's palm oil product exports are expected to reach around 35 million metric tonnes in 2026, Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto told an industry conference on Thursday.

From January to October, exports of palm oil products reached 33.8 million tonnes, up 6.0 per cent from a year earlier, Airlangga said. The shipments were worth US$28.84 billion, up 16 per cent on an annual basis, he added.

He said production this year is projected to reach around 60 million tonnes, up from around 56.55 million tonnes last year, helped by the government's replanting programmes and investments into infrastructure to improve productivity.

However, Indonesia's Palm Oil Association, known as GAPKI, warned that the El Niño weather phenomenon could slash production by 3.0 million tonnes after causing prolonged drought exacerbating wildfires throughout the country, with the biggest impact expected in 2027.

"It leads to lower productivity, not just for one season, but for seasons to come," he said.

To mitigate the production drop, GAPKI released two new pollinator insect species this year and introduced wild oil palm seeds to develop drought-tolerant palm varieties, Eddy added.