Jakarta. Indonesia reported Wednesday that palm oil shipments to foreign markets had jumped slightly to $9.59 billion in the first five months of 2026, but the uptick is not enough to feed the positive trade balance.

Indonesia registered $8.90 billion worth of palm oil exports from January to May of 2025, according to the central statistics agency BPS. 

“This brings exports of crude palm oil and its derivatives up by 7.71%,” BPS deputy Ateng Hartono told a press conference.

From a volume standpoint, exports of palm oil products saw muted growth of 7.41% compared to the previous year. Indonesia had shipped around 8.30 million tons to overseas markets last year as of end-May, according to BPS. The volume then grew to 8.92 million tons. 

The agency did not say which countries had a big appetite for Indonesian palm oil. However, a huge chunk of India-bound exports between January and May were goods categorized as “vegetable oils and animal fats”, reaching almost $1.2 billion. Palm oil belongs to this category.

All palm oil products have to go through Indonesia’s one-gate export system. But under the current transition period beginning early June, businesses only have to report their export documents to the state-run company Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI). The latest statistics have not reflected the impact of this trade regime. However, some of Indonesia’s palm oil buyers — including Singapore, Egypt, and Pakistan — have called for a stable flow of this agrifood commodity. Indonesia leads the global supplies of palm oil.

Southeast Asia’s biggest economy has been betting on palm oil to lift its exports, but the increase is not enough to prevent Indonesia from being in the red. Indonesia has had a 72-month surplus since May 2020, but registered a $1.61 billion deficit in May 2026. Ateng had told the briefing that the negative trade balance came from the deficit in oil and gas trade. 

"Singapore made up the lion's share of our oil and gas imports, reaching $5.1 billion between January and May," he explained.

Iran’s Strait of Hormuz closure following a US-Israeli surprise attack in late February has driven up oil prices. Major Middle Eastern oil producers have used this narrow waterway to bring energy to customers around the world. 

The blockade has caused the crude benchmark Brent to smash through the $100 per barrel barrier throughout the fighting. Brent prices, however, have traded above $73 per barrel on Wednesday as Washington and Tehran seek to resolve the conflict.