Amid unclarity over the newly introduced mandatory use of letters of credit (L/C), the Indonesian government has showed some flexibility. Starting from Wednesday (01/04) Indonesian exporters of four key commodities - coal, palm (kernel) oil, oil & gas, and minerals - are required to use L/C for all export deals. This new rule was developed in order to increase Indonesia’s export earnings and enhance monitoring sales of the country’s natural resources. However, a temporary exemption is now made possible.

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The Agriculture Ministry of Indonesia expects that domestic production of palm oil in 2014 will decline 10 percent (roughly two million tons) from last year due to the possible impact of the El Niño weather cycle in the second half of this year. El Niño is a weather phenomenon that occurs once every 5 years on average and involves periodical warm ocean water temperatures off the western coast of South America. This can cause climatic changes across the Pacific Ocean, impacting on the global commodities market.

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Indonesia is yet to achieve self-sufficiency in the milk industry. The Indonesian Agriculture Ministry said that the country is for 60 percent dependent on milk imports (particularly from Australia and New Zealand) to meet domestic demand. Currently, domestic milk demand in Indonesia stands at 3 million tons per year. However, only 1.2 million tons can be produced domestically. In the future the situation can worsen as domestic milk consumption grows 7 percent per year, whereas domestic milk production grows by 3.3 percent per year only.

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The tea industry of Indonesia has been in decline in the last decade. During this decade, the size of Indonesia's tea plantations fell from 150,000 hectares (ha) to 120,000 ha. The country's tea production and tea export slowed, while tea import grew. The lucrative business prospects of palm oil is partly responsible to have caused Indonesia's tea output to stagnate as some tea plantations have been transformed into palm oil plantations. To reverse this situation, the Indonesian government intends to revitalize the country's tea sector.

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