Jakarta. Indonesia’s palm oil exports tumbled 35.08% year-on-year (yoy) in March, marking a slowdown despite the world’s largest supplier’s consistency in notching double-digit increases.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that palm oil products remained a key contributor to Indonesia’s trade balance, enabling the country to register 71 consecutive months of surplus since May 2020. However, exports of crude palm oil (CPO) and its derivative products had severely weakened in March, a time when the ongoing Iran war had only just begun. The agency did not say why overseas shipments of the commodity found in nearly everything had slumped.

“Our exports of CPO and its derivatives amounted to $1.42 billion and weighed 1.31 million tons in March 2026. This indicates a 35.08% yoy drop from a value standpoint,” Ateng Hartono, a deputy at BPS, told a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.

Ateng did not say the yearly difference in volume.

The quarterly shipments still saw increases, but only in single digits. Value-wise, the figure reached $6.11 billion in January-March 2026, up by around 3.56% compared to the same period the previous year, when exports totaled $5.90 billion. The Q1 2026 export volume only hit 5.85 million tons, up by around 9.30%. BPS did not disclose who the biggest buyers of Indonesian palm oil were, but China and India have been the traditional go-to markets.

Indonesia started 2026 strong as the value of its palm oil exports skyrocketed 59.63% year-on-year (yoy) in the first month. The January-February exports also rose 26.40%, value-wise.

Ateng told the same conference that palm oil prices in international markets “had been rising since the beginning of the year”. It hit $1,149.33 per metric ton in April, quite a jump from $980.12 a metric ton seen in December 2025. 

At home, Indonesian palm oil producers group Gapki had previously complained about the 50% hike in transport and logistics costs for exports following the Iran war. The clashes -- which triggered the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz -- forced seaborne shipments to look for alternative routes, hence longer voyages.

Indonesia is gearing up to increase the mandatory palm oil blend in its diesel from the current 40% to 50%, starting in July. The move -- aimed at easing the war-fueled fiscal pressures -- will likely see Indonesia allocate more of its palm oil to meet the growing domestic demand, unless it increases the existing production.