CPO reference prices lowered by up to 40%
CPO reference prices lowered by up to 40%
JAKARTA (JP): The government cut the reference prices used to
calculate the payment of export taxes on crude palm oil (CPO) and
its byproducts by between 20 percent and 40 percent.
The director general of international trade at the Ministry of
Industry and Trade, Djoko Moeljono, said reference prices were
cut because the international price of CPO and its byproducts had
fallen and the rupiah had strengthened against the U.S. dollar.
He added that the cuts became effective on July 18.
"The reference prices were cut to allow farmers to earn more
from the sale of their oil palm kernel," he said, adding that the
price of oil palm kernel had dropped to Rp 300 per kilogram from
Rp 550 per kilogram in late April.
The price of CPO on the international market is currently
US$327 per metric ton from $469 per metric ton in late April.
The new reference price of CPO was set at $260 per metric ton
It was previously $365 per metric ton. The new reference price of
oil palm kernel is $55 per ton, refined bleached deodorized (RBD)
palm oil is $270 per ton, crude palm olein is $210 per ton and
RBD palm olein is $230 per ton.
The base price of RBD palm olein in up to five-kilogram
packages was set at $250 per ton, while the reference price for
crude palm stearin was established at $130 per ton. The new
reference price for RBD palm stearin is $140 per ton, crude palm
kernel oil is $385 per ton and RBD palm kernel oil is $415 per
ton.
The new reference prices will be effective from June 18 to
July 20.
Djoko said with a current export tax of 30 percent and the old
reference prices, CPO exporters would have suffered a loss of Rp
52 for each kilogram of CPO they exported.
"With new base prices, exporters will earn a profit on their
CPO exports," he said.
The export tax on CPO and its byproducts was lowered to a
maximum 30 percent earlier this month. The export tax had been at
40 percent since February.
Djoko said the government would continue watching CPO prices
on the local and international markets and make further
adjustments to reference prices.
"If CPO prices continue to decline in the coming weeks, we
will lower reference prices even further," he said. (gis)