Indonesian crude palm oil (CPO) producers have released good corporate earnings over the first nine months of 2014. Below, we have presented an overview of those CPO producers, listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, that have already released their financial results. Combined, these eleven companies recorded net profit growth of 155.3 percent year-on-year (y/y). The main reason for this improved performance was the 24 percent (average) increase in global CPO prices as the commodity gained popularity as an energy source.

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Exports of crude palm oil (CPO) and CPO derived products from Indonesia in the first nine months of 2014 only reached 15 million tons, down 1.75 percent from the same period last year. The main cause for this disappointing performance is slowing economic growth in China and India resulting in reduced palm oil demand from these two giant economies. As a result of weak global demand, the CPO price has fallen to an average price of USD $712 per ton in September 2014, down 5.4 percent from the previous month.

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Speculation emerged that Indonesia will scrap its export tariff for crude palm oil (CPO) in an attempt to boost sales. Three weeks ago, Malaysia had already scrapped the export tax for CPO for a period of two months to support exports and reverse a decline in CPO prices. Malaysian palm oil exports then immediately surged over 30 percent (month-to-month) in the first half of September, indicating the success of the export tax policy. Thus, the two countries - the world’s two largest producers and exporters of CPO - may become involved in a ‘tax war’.

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Indonesia is expected to challenge the anti-dumping measures on fatty alcohol - set by the European Union (EU) - at the World Trade Organization (WTO) as bilateral meetings have not led to the desired outcome. Recently, two Indonesian companies (Musim Mas and Ecogreen Oleochemicals) were forced by the EU to pay anti-dumping duties as these companies sold fatty alcohol at prices that were lower than those in the EU. Fatty Alcohol is made from palm kernel oil (a palm oil derivative) and are used in a wide variety of personal care products.

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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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Five emerging markets, India, Brazil, Turkey, South Africa and Indonesia, have become known to the world in 2013 as the ‘Fragile Five’, a term coined by analysts at Morgan Stanley. This term refers to those five emerging economies that were considered most vulnerable to the winding down of the US Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing program (bond-buying program) as capital inflows dried up, or, in fact reversed. The five countries were assessed as risky due to their twin fiscal and current-account deficits, slowing economic growth and high inflation.

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The World Bank cut its global economic growth forecast because of the weaker outlooks for the economies of the USA, Russia and China, as well as the geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine which triggered worldwide concerns. The Washington-based institution expects to see 2.8 percent of global economic growth in 2014, far below its January 2014 estimate of 3.2 percent. However, it kept its global growth forecasts for the next two years at 3.4 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.

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The Indian rupee depreciated 0.4 percent to 58.7150 per US dollar on Monday (26/05), the most in a month on speculation that India's central bank intervened to deliberately weaken the currency after it had gained 2.8 percent against the US dollar this month (becoming the best performing Asian currency). The rupee gained due to optimism about the new government's ability to boost the economy (which has slowed down considerably in recent years). However, the central bank expects that a too strong rupee will hurt the country's exports.

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An official at Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources stated that the production of coal in the first four months of 2014 grew five percent (year-on-year) to 147 million tons. As such, the country is still on track to meet this year's coal production target of 426 million tons. Exports of Indonesian coal totaled 109 million tons in the January-April 2014 period, while the remainder (38 million tons) was sold on the domestic market. Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy, is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of coal.

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Indonesia's Finance Minister Chatib Basri is optimistic that Indonesia's economic growth can reach 5.8 to 6.0 percent in 2014. According to Basri, three factors support this expectation: strong household consumption, an improving global economy, and the impact of Indonesia's legislative and presidential elections (scheduled for April and July 2014). However, one of the biggest challenges for the Indonesian government will be to offset the impact of further US Federal Reserve tapering and US interest rate hikes in 2015 and 2016.

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There are many important commodities. But if we talk about food commodities, then rice certainly ranks high. This particularly applies to Asia where the populations are dependent on rice as the basic staple food that is consumed every day (and usually up to three times per day).

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Although there is plenty of opposition to – and criticism on – Indonesia for allowing crude palm oil (or CPO) to play a big role in the domestic economy (Indonesia being the world’s largest producer and exporter of CPO), the country is currently feeling the windfall from soaring CPO prices. And, it is contributing to Indonesia’s recovery from the severe – and still ongoing – novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

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India is increasingly investing in Indonesia. Based on data from Indonesia's Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), India invested USD $285.4 million in Indonesia in full-year 2017. It is a relatively small amount but it does imply a 418 percent growth rate from USD $55.0 million worth of Indian investment in Indonesia in the preceding year. Thus, India jumped from 23rd to 16th in the ranking of biggest foreign investors in Indonesia.

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Malaysia, the world’s second-largest crude palm oil (CPO) producer and exporter, will continue its duty-free export tariff for CPO in January 2015 according to information from the Malaysian customs department. Starting from September 2014 Malaysian authorities have implemented a duty-free CPO export policy in an effort to boost global demand and support international CPO prices (which have fallen nearly 20 percent this year). Indonesia, which has seen duty-free CPO shipments since October 2014, is expected to follow suit.

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Reserves of crude palm oil (CPO) in Indonesia may have declined for a second straight month in October on the back of drought and an increase in exports from Southeast Asia’s largest economy. The delayed impact of drought (which even managed to dry up several rivers in West Kalimantan in October) limited production of CPO in recent weeks. Meanwhile, exports have increased after Indonesia and Malaysia - the world’s two top palm oil producers - scrapped export taxes to boost demand for this commodity.

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British–Dutch multinational consumer goods company Unilever has to cope with slowing worldwide sales in the second quarter of 2014. Besides the negative impact of the strong euro (causing unfavorable exchange rates), underlying sales (which exclude exchange rate effects) of the company have slowed to 3.8 percent in the second quarter. In the first half of 2014, Unilever recorded a 5.5 percent (year-on-year) decline of revenue to €24.1 billion. However, net profit rose 12 percent to €3 billion, partly on gains derived from the sale of business units.

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Prestigious Hong Kong-based HSBC Bank claims that a new commodity boom may appear if India will boost investments in infrastructure and housing. Chances of increased spending in India have grown considerably after reform-minded Narendra Modi posted a victory in the May 2014 election. Economists at the HSBC Bank say that this may give rise to a new prolonged commodities boom as had occurred in the 2000s which - to a large extent - was triggered by accelerated economic growth in emerging economies, particularly China.

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Coal is one of the most important commodities for Indonesia in terms of state revenue as it accounts for about 85 percent of the country's total mining revenue. Therefore, when global coal prices fell sharply from 2011 (amid a slowing global economy), Indonesia felt the impact. In a response to lower coal prices, Indonesian miners actually increased coal output thus placing more downward pressure on coal prices and profit margins. Although the coal industry will remain frail for some time to come, long-term prospects are still strong.

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Anoop Singh, Director of the Asia and Pacific Department within the International Monetary Fund (IMF), conducted a media roundtable in Tokyo today (30/10) in which he outlined the IMF's view on the economy of Asia. Asia will remain the global growth leader, although the IMF has lowered growth forecasts. Both tighter global liquidity and homegrown structural impediments will weigh on growth, but for most economies a gradual pickup in exports to advanced economies and resilient domestic demand should help support growth.

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Softer than expected economic activity in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and India and jitters over the United States (US) quantitative easing (QE) program will weigh on Asia and the Pacific’s growth prospects in the near term, says a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report. “Asia and the Pacific's 2013 growth will come in below earlier projections due to more moderate activity in the region’s two largest economies and effects of QE nervousness,” said ADB Chief Economist Changyong Rhee.

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