Indonesia’s export centralisation policy likely to affect US buyers of palm oil
Indonesia’s new single-gate export system for palm oil, managed by DSI and fully operational by January 2027, is expected to primarily affect U.S. buyers, USDA said. Exporters must report shipments during the transition, while the policy aims to improve transparency and prevent revenue losses.
The Indonesian government’s export centralisation policy is most likely to affect US buyers of palm oil, according to a report by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
On 20 May, President Prabowo announced a “single-gate” export system for strategic commodities, citing various practices that had caused losses to the state for years.
In early June, the Indonesian government issued Ministry of Trade (MOT) Regulation 16/2026 designed to improve trade transparency and prevent revenue loss from exports, the 18 June Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) report said.
The regulation listed the commodities which would need to be exported via DSI. This included palm oil products, including crude palm oil (CPO), refined palm oil, refined palm olein, used cooking oil (UCO) and palm residual products.
Managed by new state-owned entity Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI), the new system would be introduced in phases, starting from 1 June, with full operation targeted by 1 January 2027.
Although exporters would continue conducting overseas sales independently during the transition period, companies would be required to report all export activities to DSI.
The government plans to review the policy after the first three months of implementation before proceeding to the next phase, according to the report.
In 2025, the USA was the fifth largest importer of Indonesian palm oil, the USDA said.
However, while Indonesian palm oil exports to the USA totalled 1.3M tonnes last year, this was the lowest volume since 2021.
Meanwhile, Indonesia recorded no UCO shipments to the USA in 2026 despite exporting 10,000-112,000 tonnes/year to the USA from 2023-2025.
There have been no palm residue exports from Indonesia to the USA since 2023, according to the USDA report.
The USDA said it would continue to track the impact of Indonesia’s policy change.
As the world’s leading palm oil producer, Indonesia accounts for more than half of global shipments of the commodity.
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Source : OFI Magazine
