Jakarta. Indonesia witnessed a double-digit rise in its palm oil exports in the first half of 2025, official statistics showed Friday as Jakarta unlocked greater market access to the European Union (EU).

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced that Indonesia’s exports of crude palm oil (CPO) and its derivatives had surged 24.81 percent year-on-year (yoy) in the first half of 2025. The exports had totaled $11.43 billion, up from $9.16 billion the previous year. Southeast Asia’s largest economy had shipped around 11 million tons of palm oil over the said six month period, up by 2.69 percent yoy. Indonesia had been selling its palm oil at an average price of $1,053.03 per ton so far this year as of June, an increase of 22.21 percent yoy. The price used to stand at around $861.65 per ton in the first six months of 2024.  

“In June 2025 alone, our exports of CPO and derivatives reached $2.53 billion. This marked a 36.95 percent rise from May 2025," Pudji Ismartini, a deputy at BPS, told a news conference in Jakarta.

BPS, however, did not say who were Indonesia's top palm oil buyers.

Indonesia’s surplus in non-oil and gas trade amounted to $28.31 billion in the first half of 2025. About $15.74 billion came from trade of animal or vegetable fats and oils. CPO falls within this group. The said category also made up the lion’s share of the positive trade balance, followed by mineral fuels ($13.28 billion) as well as iron and steel ($9.04 billion).

The latest trade figures came not long after the government announced that the EU had grown more lax on Indonesian palm oil albeit the bloc's deforestation concerns. According to senior minister Airlangga Hartarto, the EU has agreed to eliminate its tariffs on Indonesian palm oil as part of an upcoming trade pact. The EU will allow Indonesia to export 1 million tons of CPO each year at zero tariff once the trade agreement enters into force. Any palm oil export beyond the limit will be subject to a higher tariff of possibly 3 percent. The quota for palm kernel oil will depend on the previous year’s exports. This trade pact, dubbed CEPA for Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, will likely take effect by the end of 2026 after a series of ratification processes.

Indonesia is the world’s largest palm oil supplier.