JAKARTA, July 24 (Reuters) - Indonesia, the world's greatest palm oil manufacturer, is evaluating 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 carried out, the B40 required could increase biodiesel consumption to up to 16 million kilolitres (KL) next year, the ministry said, from 13 million KL estimated to be consumed in 2024.
"We hope the trials might be ended up in December, so that full implementation of B40 might be brought out in 2025," energy ministry senior main Eniya Listiani Dewi said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Indonesian Biofuel Producers Association (APROBI) said the industry had the capability to fulfill B40 need, with installed capability expected to rise to 20 million KL annually next year from 18 million KL now.
"However we will require more basic materials to meet 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 needed this year, he added.
Indonesia's most significant palm oil association GAPKI said a decline in exports meant there would suffice raw products to supply the B40 mandate in the meantime.
But the market would need to evaluate "which one would be better", GAPKI chairman Eddy Martono stated, referring to the possibility an increase in exports would make providing the domestic market less viable.
Indonesia's palm oil output is approximated to reach 54.4 million lots in 2024, a 2.26% boost from last year, while exports are anticipated to decrease by 2.47% to 29.5 million tons as domestic intake rose, driven by biodiesel required.
The ministry had evaluated the biodiesel, combined with 40% of palm oil, on a train for the very first time earlier today, while preparing to check the B40 mix on farming equipment, power plants and in the shipping market, it said. (Reporting by Bernadette Christina and Dewi Kurniawati; Writing by Stanley Widianto; Editing by John Mair, Savio D'Souza and Barbara Lewis)
