Amran Denies B50 Programme Causing Rise in Cooking Oil Prices

Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman has denied that the B50 biodiesel programme is the cause of the rise in domestic cooking oil prices. He stressed that the national supply of crude palm oil (CPO) remains abundant.

Amran stated that national CPO production has actually seen a significant increase in recent times. Previously around 44 million tonnes, production now approaches 50 million tonnes, in line with improvements in productivity and rising exports.

“No, we export to foreign countries. Our exports have increased from 26 million tonnes to 32 million tonnes. That means raw materials are plentiful. So prices shouldn’t rise,” said the Minister when meeting with journalists in Jakarta on Wednesday (15/4/2026).

Amran explained that the B50 programme does not take a share from domestic cooking oil needs. According to him, the policy utilises export allocations, thus not disrupting local supplies.

In his calculations, the additional production even exceeds the needs for the energy programme. National palm oil production, said Amran, has increased by around 6 million tonnes before the full allocation for B50 is used.

“More. Now we have production of around 45 million tonnes, even approaching 50 million tonnes. Previously 44 million tonnes. That means more,” he said.

Amran assessed that there is no direct link between the implementation of B50 and the rise in cooking oil prices. He called such an assumption inaccurate due to the large availability of raw materials.