Where is Indonesian Palm Oil Exported?

India, China, and Pakistan are Indonesia's main palm oil markets. Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that Indonesia's palm oil exports to India in 2016 reached 5.4 million tons, or 22.5 percent of total exports. Meanwhile, palm oil exports to China amounted to 3.1 million tons (12.93 percent) and to Pakistan 2.1 million tons (8.75 percent).

Total Indonesian palm oil exports in 2016 fell by 13 percent to 24.01 million tons from 27.67 million tons the previous year. The biggest decrease was in exports to China, reaching 24.2 percent from the previous year. However, the value of palm oil exports throughout 2016 only fell by 2.8 percent to US$15.9 billion from US$16.42 billion the previous year. The rise in global palm oil prices resulted in only a slight decrease in export value.

(Read Databoks: Indonesia, the World's Largest Palm Oil Exporter)

For information, the area of palm oil plantations in 2016 increased by 5.81 percent to 11.91 million hectares (ha) from 11.26 million ha the previous year. Similarly, Indonesia's palm oil production in 2016 increased by 6.9 percent to 33.23 million tons from only 31.1 million tons the previous year.