So far, an area of 1.9 million hectares of oil palm plantations, which can produce up to 8.2 million tons of crude palm oil (CPO), has been certified under the Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) scheme. As of August 29, 306 ISPO certificates have been granted to 304 Indonesian oil palm companies, one plasma farming association, and one farmer self-help cooperative. The above-mentioned figure includes the 40 ISPO certificates that were submitted today to local palm oil companies.

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India's decision to double import duties on crude palm oil (CPO) from 7.5 percent to 15 percent earlier this month should have a big impact (India being the world's largest palm oil importer). The move is an effort to protect domestic palm oil farmers. India also raised the levy on refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) palm olein by 10 percent to 25 percent.

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The crude palm oil (CPO) price continues to decline, falling more than 1 percent on Monday morning (24/07). The CPO futures contract (October 2017 delivery), the most active contract on the Bursa Malaysia, had shed 1.05 percent or 27 points to 2,546 ringgit per ton by 11:20 am local Jakarta time.

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The strengthening of the crude palm oil (CPO) price continued for the third consecutive trading day on Friday morning (21/07), supported by strong exports and bad weather. CPO futures (October 2017 contract), the most-active contract at Bursa Malaysia, had risen 0.16 percent to 2,580 ringgit per ton by 10:17 am local Jakarta time zone. Earlier in the morning the CPO price opened with a gain after rising 2.02 percent to 2,576 ringgit per ton on Thursday (19/07).

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The crude palm oil (CPO) price touched its lowest level since 4 May 2017 due to expectations of rising CPO production in Malaysia, the world's second-biggest palm oil producer. At the end of trading on Tuesday (06/06) the palm oil price had fallen 0.08 percent to 2,497 ringgit (approx. USD $585.07) per ton on the Malaysian bourse (August 2017 contracts).

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Despite expectations of rising demand ahead of - and amid - the Ramadan and Idul Fitri celebrations, the price of crude palm oil (CPO) is expected to decline up to the end of June 2017. At the end of the trading day on Tuesday (30/05) the CPO price had fallen 0.56 percent to 2,502 ringgit (approx. USD $584.46) per ton (August 2017 contract) on the Malaysia bourse. So far this year, the CPO price has tumbled 14.48 percent.

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Again the government of Indonesia and the European Union (EU) are on opposite sides when it comes to the palm oil sector. Last week, EU parliament passed the Resolution on Palm Oil and Deforestation of Rainforests. This resolution will make it increasingly difficult for Indonesia to export palm oil to the EU as the bloc wants to gradually reduce the use of vegetable oils, including palm oil, that are not sustainably produced in biodiesel. This is a strategy to combat deforestation as well as human rights violations in this sector (for example child labor).

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The Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (Gapki) expects Indonesian crude palm oil (CPO) exports to reach 27 million tons in 2017 (up 1.6 percent from realization in the preceding year), or USD $18.90 billion in terms of export value (up 1.7 percent from the preceding year). In other words, Gapki sees very limited growth for Indonesia's CPO exports in 2017. This bleak outlook is caused by sluggish global demand (China may in fact curtail CPO imports), while the recovery of the CPO price is not expected to be significant.

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Indonesia kept its export tax for crude palm oil (CPO) shipments at USD $18 per metric ton for March 2017 as the government's March reference CPO price was determined at USD $825.8 per ton, up 1.27 percent (m/m) from the reference price in the preceding month. When this reference CPO price of Indonesia is set below USD $750 per ton, the export tax is scrapped. When the price reaches the range of USD $750 - $800, then Indonesian authorities introduce a USD $3 per ton export tax, followed by a USD $18 per metric ton export tax if the reference price rises to the range of USD $800 - $850 per ton.

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The Indonesian Palm Oil Board (DMSI) says higher productivity is the key to boost Indonesia's crude palm oil (CPO) production. Amid international pressure, particularly after the devastating forest fires on Sumatra and Kalimantan in the second half of 2015, Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced to issue a five-year moratorium on new palm oil concessions to limit the expansion of oil palm plantations in Indonesia. Although Indonesian authorities want to see rising CPO output (in order to safeguard foreign exchange earnings and create employment opportunities), further growth should come on the back of rising productivity, not by adding new plantations.

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Indonesia's largest supplier of crude palm oil (CPO), Astra Agro Lestari, is expected to see improving corporate earnings in the years ahead on the back of the rising CPO price and expectation of the company's climbing CPO production volume. The year 2016 was a good year for Astra Agro Lestari as it reported a 224.2 percent year-on-year (y/y) jump in net profit and a 7.6 percent (y/y) increase in sales, led by sales of CPO and derivative products. This was a great recovery from the preceding year. CPO and derivative products account for more than 86 percent of the company's total sales.

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The completion of its factory and being granted an additional sugar import quota is expected to boost corporate earnings of Tunas Baru Lampung, one of Indonesia’s leading producers of vegetable cooking oil (covering palm and coconut cooking oil). Furthermore, the company will feel the positive impact of rising crude palm oil (CPO) prices. Tunas Baru Lampung is part of the Sungai Budi Group, an Indonesia-based manufacturer and distributor of agricultural consumer products.

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The higher crude palm oil (CPO) price will have a positive impact on the corporate earnings of Indonesian CPO producers, including Sampoerna Agro. Benchmark palm oil futures for March 2017 delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange were at 3,161 ringgit (approx. USD $706) per ton at the end of last week, near a four and a half year high. However, not all analysts advise investors to purchase shares of Sampoerna Agro, a company that is listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange.

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Indonesia's Industry Ministry selected the industrial estate in Berau (East Kalimantan) as the center for the downstream palm oil industry in Kalimantan. Furthermore, Panggah Susanto, the Industry Ministry's Director General for Agriculture industry, said the government proposes to select Berau as one of the palm oil centers within the Palm Oil Green Economic Zone (POGEZ) scheme. Berau is chosen to replace Bontang because the former has 3,400 hectares of (clear and clean) industrial land available, while land in Bontang still falls under "protected forest" status.

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Non-governmental environmental organization Greenpeace blocked all import and export channels of crude palm oil (CPO) trader IOI on Tuesday morning (27/09) in the harbor of Rotterdam (the Netherlands), the city that acts as palm oil’s gateway into Europe. Greenpeace activists decided to take action after a Greenpeace International report showed that palm oil from companies that are reportedly involved in forest destruction, peatland fires and child labor is still flowing into Europe and the USA through IOI facilities.

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The crude palm oil (CPO) price touched its highest level so far this year. On Tuesday (20/09) palm oil futures (December delivery) - traded on the Kuala Lumpur exchange - ended the day at 2,690 ringgit (approx. USD $651 per metric ton). Palm oil prices are rising as CPO production in Indonesia and Malaysia will remain subdued this year due to droughts that were brought by the El Nino weather phenomenon earlier in 2016, while there is expectation of a rather wet season later this year due to the La Nina weather phenomenon.

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Expectation of rising fresh fruit bunches (FFB) and crude palm oil (CPO) volumes in the second half of the year should boost the corporate earnings of Astra Agro Lestari, one of Indonesia's leading agribusiness companies. Meanwhile, sentiments related to the La Nina weather phenomenon and rising CPO demand on the back of the Indonesian government's biodiesel program should support CPO prices. Astra Agro Lestari is the plantation unit of diversified conglomerate Astra International.

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo has ordered the nation's Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya to issue a moratorium on new palm oil concessions in a number of provinces. Although Widodo wants Indonesia - the world's top producer and exporter of crude palm oil (CPO) - to raise CPO output, he believes this increase can be achieved by increasing productivity of existing palm oil plantations, not by adding new plantations. Indonesia is often criticized by environmentalist groups for its forestry policies and poor law enforcement (which led to the severe haze that spread through Southeast Asia last year).

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Indonesia's crude palm oil (CPO) exports rose 9 percent month-on-month (m/m) to 2.29 million tons in February 2016 on the back of growing CPO demand in Africa, Bangladesh, India and the European Union. Indonesia's February CPO export volume was better than estimated previously. Analysts had expected a figure below 2 million tons. Combined, Indonesia's palm oil exports reached 4.39 million tons in the first two months of 2016, up 22 percent (y/y) from the 3.59 million tons of CPO that Indonesia exported in the same period one year earlier.

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Crude palm oil (CPO) production in Indonesia and Malaysia is expected to decline due to the impact of the El Nino weather phenomenon (that brought a prolonged dry season to Southeast Asia). CPO production in Malaysia could fall between 1.5 and 2 million tons this year according to Dorab Mistry, Director at Godrej International. Declining output in the world's two leading palm oil producers and exporters implies that palm oil prices should be able to rise further. At the start of this week palm oil futures traded in Kuala Lumpur (June delivery) rose to 2,779 ringgit (approx. USD $695) per ton, the highest level since March 2014.

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