Agriculture Minister: CPO Exports Rise to $4.69 Billion Due to Downstreaming
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman stated that the increase in crude palm oil (CPO) and its derivatives exports from $3.71 billion to $4.69 billion US, for the period January-February 2026, is inseparable from the strengthening of downstream processing to enhance added value.
“If we process our CPO into margarine, cosmetics, and other derivative products, the world will be highly dependent on Indonesia,” said the Minister in a statement in Jakarta on Thursday.
He conveyed that his side will continue to strengthen the production, processing, and marketing ecosystem for palm oil commodities to increase added value and strengthen the national economy based on the agricultural sector.
“We control more than 60 percent of the world market. That means Indonesia is very determining. And this must continue to be driven by its downstream processing,” said Amran.
The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded that the value of CPO and its derivatives exports for the January-February 2026 period experienced a significant increase of 26.40 percent.
Deputy for Distribution and Services Statistics at BPS, Ateng Hartono, in Jakarta on Wednesday (1/4), said that CPO exports for that period amounted to $4.69 billion US or a significant cumulative increase of 26.40 percent compared to the same period the previous year, which was recorded at $3.71 billion US.
In terms of volume, exports of CPO and its derivatives also experienced a quite significant increase, from 3.33 million tonnes in January-February 2025 to 4.54 million tonnes in the same period in 2026.
The increase in CPO and its derivatives exports also contributed to the performance of Indonesia’s non-oil and gas exports overall, which recorded positive growth.
“Non-oil and gas exports were recorded to rise by 2.82 percent (year on year) with a value of $42.35 billion US,” he explained.
Ateng added that the processing industry sector became the main driver of non-oil and gas export growth, including from palm-based commodities.
“The processing industry sector became the main driver of the increase in non-oil and gas export performance throughout January to February 2026 with a contribution of 5.36 percent,” he said.
Besides CPO and its derivatives, the increase in processing industry exports was also driven by other commodities such as nickel, four-wheeled or more motor vehicles, semiconductors and electronic components, as well as organic basic chemicals based on agricultural products.
Meanwhile, from a sectoral perspective, the contribution of non-oil and gas exports in February 2026 was dominated by the processing industry at $18.55 billion US, followed by the mining and other sectors at $2.15 billion US, and the agriculture, fisheries, and forestry sector at $0.39 billion US.
He mentioned that in February 2026, total non-oil and gas exports amounted to $21.09 billion US and if detailed by sector, agriculture, fisheries, and forestry contributed $0.39 billion US.
“The mining and other sectors $2.15 billion US and the processing industry $18.55 billion US,” he explained.
With that performance, he added, CPO and its derivative products once again affirm their position as one of the flagship commodities that support Indonesia’s export growth at the beginning of 2026.