JAKARTA, July 24 (Reuters) - Indonesia, the world's most significant palm oil producer, is testing fuel with a view to increasing to 40% from 35% the share of palm-oil mixed into biodiesel next year, the energy ministry stated.
If implemented, the B40 required might increase biodiesel consumption to up to 16 million kilolitres (KL) next year, the ministry stated, from 13 million KL approximated to be consumed in 2024.
"We hope the trials could be finished in December, so that complete execution of B40 might be performed in 2025," energy ministry senior main Eniya Listiani Dewi said in a declaration on Tuesday.
The Indonesian Biofuel Producers Association (APROBI) said the market had the capacity to fulfill B40 demand, with set up capacity expected to increase to 20 million KL annually next year from 18 million KL now.
"However we will require more basic materials to fulfill B40 need," Ernest Gunawan, the secretary general of APROBI informed Reuters on Wednesday.
The biodiesel industry would need 13.9 million metric lots of unrefined palm oil to produce 16 million KL biodiesel next year, from the estimated 11 million heaps required this year, he added.
Indonesia's most significant palm oil association GAPKI stated a decrease in exports implied there would be enough basic materials to supply the B40 required in the meantime.
But the industry would require to evaluate "which one would be better", Eddy Martono said, referring to the possibility a boost in exports would make supplying the domestic market less viable.
Indonesia's palm oil output is approximated to reach 54.4 million tons in 2024, a 2.26% increase from in 2015, while exports are expected to decrease by 2.47% to 29.5 million lots as domestic consumption rose, driven by biodiesel mandate.
The ministry had actually checked the biodiesel, combined with 40% of palm oil, on a train for the very first time earlier this week, while planning to check the B40 mix on agriculture machinery, power plants and in the shipping market, it stated. (Reporting by Bernadette Christina and Dewi Kurniawati
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Indonesia Plans Increase in Palm Oil based Biodiesel In 2025
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