Jakarta. Indonesian palm oil exporters started 2026 strong as shipments soared in January, according to the Central Statistics Agency or BPS, although the growth was not good enough to lift the country’s shrinking surplus.

Indonesia’s exports of crude palm oil (CPO) and derivatives stood at $2.29 billion in value. Indonesia — which holds a comfortable lead in palm oil supply — recorded $1.44 billion shipments of the vegetable crop for the same period in 2025.

“So our palm oil exports rose 59.63% year-on-year [yoy],” BPS deputy Ateng Hartono told a press briefing in Jakarta on Monday.

The export volume skyrocketed 77.07% yoy from 1.27 million tons to 2.24 million tons. The sector contributed around 10.78% of Indonesia’s non-oil and gas export value in the first month of 2026.

CPO price on international markets strengthened 1.81% month-to-month, averaging at $997.82 per metric ton in January. However, prices fell 6.77% yoy.

BPS did not go into details on who the top buyers of Indonesian palm oil were. However, oil fats and vegetable oils made up quite a huge chunk of Indonesia’s exports to Iran, a country currently at war against Israel, the US, and some Gulf Arab states. Iran-bound exports of vegetable oil and animal fats totaled $2.1 million in January. This product category encompasses crude and refined palm oil. The latest available data only lasted until January, and thus had not taken into account the Middle East conflict.

However, the double-digit growth in palm oil shipments still failed to pick up Indonesia’s surplus.

The country's positive balance in goods trade plunged from $2.51 billion in December 2025 to just $950 million early this year. This marked a huge drop compared to the $3.49 billion surplus in January 2025. But Southeast Asia’s biggest economy was able to keep its 69-month surplus run since May 2020.