Indonesia No Longer Imports Diesel, Zulhas: Thanks to Palm Oil Downstreaming

Jakarta – Chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) Zulkifli Hasan has stated that Indonesia no longer imports diesel for fuel needs. He said this achievement occurred after the government implemented the palm oil downstreaming policy.

This statement comes amid issues of petrol price increases, as the national energy supply remains in the spotlight. Zulkifli said that downstreaming enables Indonesia to meet its own energy needs, particularly diesel.

“We no longer import diesel. We have entered B40, B50, so diesel is no longer imported. So if there’s fuss about petrol price increases, for diesel we already have enough, no more imports, it’s sufficient,” said the man familiarly called Zulhas when opening the PAN 2026 National Conference at the PAN DPP Office, Tuesday (31/3/2026).

The Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs said that the government will expand palm oil plantations to support this policy. The plan is to develop up to 2 million hectares in the near future.

In addition to palm oil, the government is also preparing the development of sugarcane across 1 million hectares in Papua for ethanol production as a petrol blend. “Brothers, later for petrol if we have a lot of sugarcane in Papua, sugarcane developed in Merauke, that’s very good, then we will make ethanol, ethanol is a blend for fuel,” he said.

Zulkifli said that this step aligns with President Prabowo Subianto’s policy which encourages food and energy self-sufficiency. “The order from our President Father is that we must, must be independent in food, energy, mandatory including downstreaming,” said Zulkifli.