Jakarta. Indonesia has set its August reference price for crude palm oil (CPO) at $996.52 per metric ton, down 0.44% from the previous month, resulting in a lower export duty on the country's key agricultural commodity.

The Trade Ministry said the reference price declined by $4.38 from July, reducing the export duty to $148 per metric ton. The export levy remains set at 12.5% of the reference price, equivalent to $124.56 per metric ton.

Tommy Andana, Director General of Foreign Trade at the ministry, said the export duty and levy were calculated in accordance with prevailing regulations.

In a statement, Tommy said the August reference price was based on the average CPO prices recorded between June 20 and July 19, 2026.

During that period, CPO averaged $892.96 per metric ton on the Indonesia CPO Exchange, $1,100.08 on the Malaysia CPO Exchange, and $1,509.09 at the Port of Rotterdam.

Under Finance Ministry Regulation No. 35/2025, the reference price is determined using the two market prices closest to the median value. For August, the benchmark was calculated from the average prices on the Indonesian and Malaysian exchanges.

In addition to CPO, the government set an export duty of $33 per metric ton for refined, bleached, and deodorized (RBD) palm olein sold in branded packages weighing up to 25 kilograms.

Tommy attributed the decline in the reference price primarily to weaker global demand, particularly from India, one of the world's largest palm oil importers.

Lower international crude oil prices also weighed on CPO prices during the reference period, he added.