Indonesia suspects virgin palm oil mixed into used cooking oil exports

JAKARTA, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Indonesia said on Thursday its exports of used cooking oil and palm oil residue in recent years had exceeded production capacity, indicating crude palm oil (CPO) had been mixed in and prompting it to issue regulation curbing shipments this week. The world's biggest exporter of palm oil on Wednesday issued a ministerial decree clamping down on shipments of used cooking oil and palm oil residue, aimed to avert a potential shortfall of CPO for domestic industries. Trade ministry data showed exports of palm oil mill effluent (POME) and High Acid Palm Oil Residue (HAPOR) in 2023 and January-October 2024 far exceeded the Indonesian government's estimate of total capacity of around 300,000 metric tons. POME and HAPOR are palm oil residue products that can be used to make biofuel or fertiliser. Shipments of both products reached 3.45 million tons in January-October 2024 and 4.87 million tons in 2023. That compares with CPO exports of 2.70 million tons in the first 10 months of 2024 and 3.6 million tons in 2023. The ministry also said there was a 21% increase in exports of POME and HAPOR between 2019 and 2023, compared with a 20% drop in CPO exports in the same period. "This justifies (the view) that the exported POME and HAPOR were not purely from residue or used CPO processing, but were also a mixture of virgin CPO," trade minister Budi Santoso said in a press statement. Budi said that without regulations to curb exports availability of CPO for domestic use could be at risk. Authorities have previously alleged that some cooking oil sold under a government programme called "Minyakita" had been mislabelled as used cooking oil and shipped overseas for biodiesel feedstock. Separately, in June 2024, a group of U.S. senators alleged fraudulent used cooking oil had been shipped from China to the United States, including some cargoes that might include virgin palm oil. (Reporting by Dewi Kurniawati. Editing by Gayatri Suroyo and Mark Potter) (([email protected]))