Minister Bahlil Claims B50 Programme Could Save Rp 170 Trillion in Foreign Exchange
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia has claimed that the mandatory B50 biodiesel programme will retain hundreds of trillions of rupiah in foreign exchange within Indonesia. The programme, he said, will generate savings on the foreign exchange currently spent on diesel imports.
The B50 scheme mandates a 50 per cent blend of processed palm oil in diesel fuel sold in Indonesia. Bahlil believes the B50 programme will not only curb diesel imports but also create a domestic market for crude palm oil (CPO).
“If CPO prices abroad are low and other countries do not want it, then fine, we can set aside part of it to build downstream B50,” he said at the launch of the B50 programme alongside President Prabowo Subianto in Karawang, West Java, on Thursday, 9 July 2026.
With the B50 programme, the chairman of the Golkar Party believes palm oil prices for farmers and industry can rise. He estimates domestic CPO demand could increase from 15.2 million tonnes to as much as 17 million tonnes, saying this new demand would provide market certainty for palm farmers.
As a result, Bahlil said, more foreign exchange will be retained domestically, as money will no longer flow abroad for diesel imports.
Bahlil said the B50 programme would retain up to Rp 170 trillion in foreign exchange domestically. That figure, he said, is an increase from the B40 programme, which he previously said could retain around Rp 133 trillion.
In addition, Bahlil said the added value of the CPO industry would also rise, from Rp 20.92 trillion to Rp 23.49 trillion. On employment, Bahlil claimed job creation would increase from around 1.8 million people under B40 to 2.1 million under B50.
The government also claims B50 will help meet its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Bahlil said emission reductions could increase from 39.66 million tonnes of CO2 to around 44.46 million tonnes of CO2 under the mandatory B50 programme.
Bahlil said the policy will eliminate Indonesia’s dependence on diesel imports. “With the implementation of B50, thank God, we will no longer import diesel products into our country,” he said.
The legal basis for the mandatory B50 biodiesel programme is Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation Number 4 of 2025 on the Enterprise and Utilisation of Biofuels. There is also the Decree of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Number 257.K/EK.01/MEM.E/2026 of 2026 on the Obligation to Blend 50 Per Cent Biodiesel into Diesel Oil.
The policy mandates a 50 per cent biodiesel blend for all diesel-type fuels. In its implementation, biofuel business entities, oil fuel business entities, and distributor business entities are required to apply standards and quality in accordance with the established specifications.
Fuel business entities that fail to meet the blending obligation, or biofuel business entities that fail to distribute biodiesel in line with the 50 per cent implementation target, may face administrative sanctions in the form of written warnings, temporary suspension of activities, and/or revocation of business licences in accordance with prevailing laws and regulations.
To support the implementation transition, fuel business entities have been given a transition period until 30 September 2026 to exhaust their stock of B40-specification biodiesel. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources will also conduct regular evaluations of the B50 implementation every three months.