Surabaya. Indonesia will stop importing low-grade diesel fuel starting July 1 as the government implements its mandatory B50 biodiesel program, Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said on Sunday.

The policy will raise the palm oil-based biodiesel blend in subsidized low-grade diesel, locally known as Solar, from the current 40% to 50%.

“We will no longer import Solar starting July 1, when B50 takes effect. This is Indonesia’s future energy because the source comes from palm oil,” Amran said in Surabaya.

Indonesia has aggressively expanded biofuel usage as part of efforts to reduce dependence on imported petroleum products and strengthen domestic energy security.

Amran added that the government is also developing biofuel blends for gasoline in cooperation with state-owned plantation company Perkebunan Nusantara IV.

Earlier this year, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said Indonesia had recorded a surplus of around 1.4 billion liters of subsidized low-grade diesel fuel.

The surplus has emerged alongside a sharp increase in biodiesel production under Indonesia’s B40 policy, which mandates a 40% biodiesel blend in diesel fuel sold domestically.

Government data show biodiesel consumption rose to 14.2 billion liters in 2025, up from 9.3 billion liters in 2021.

Additional domestic supply has also come from the start-up of a new refinery in Balikpapan, which has boosted national diesel production, Bahlil said.

Biodiesel use in 2025 reached 105.2 percent of the government’s target of 13.5 million kiloliters, helping cut fossil diesel imports by around 3.3 million kiloliters, according to the minister.

“Indonesia is now in a diesel surplus of roughly 1.4 million kiloliters,” Bahlil said.

The government is also preparing to phase out imports of mid- and high-octane gasoline beginning in 2027, he added.

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