InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Ministry of Agriculture mentioned that Indonesia would need about 20 million kiloliters (KL) of crude palm oil (CPO) per year to realize and implement biodiesel program mixed to 50 percent diesel or known as B50. It is one prior program in the era of President Prabowo Subianto, just like Chairman of International Marketing Work Team General Directorate of Plantation Ministry of Agriculture, Muhammad Fauzan Ridha, said.

Indonesia is implementing B35 and planning to realize B40 by the early of January 2025. For the next step, B50 should be encouraged to massively use crude palm oil (CPO).

Fauzan thought, CPO needs for B35 reached about 13,4 million kiloliters per year while B40 could be about 16,08 million kiloliters per year. "B50 could need more supplies about 4 - 5 million kiloliters and CPO production needs could be about 20 million kiloliters," Fauzan said, as InfoSAWIT quoted from Kumparan, Friday (25/10/2024).

But he also said the capacity of biodiesel industries in Indonesia just reached 17 - 18 million kiloliters. To realize B50, it needs to escalate biodiesel industrial capacity up to 25 million kiloliters. "It needs idle capacity about 80 percent from the available industries," he said.

Fauzan also mentioned the government is still studying the potential to substitute CPO exports to the domestic needs namely about CPO derivative exports to European Union because of European Union Deforestation Regulation. But he emphasized it would not be easy because the exports to the continent were mostly the derivative products, not raw CPO.

He continued B50 implementation would always be studied with Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resource. The main focus would be about the supply and demand, economic evaluation, institutions, and infrastructure needs to support the program. “The study process could be continued until next years,” he said.

Director of Bioenergy Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resource, Edi said that CPO was exported to Europe and could be reaching about 3 - 5 million tons. It could be turned over to fulfill the domestic needs, including to support B50. Besides the export option to many countries, the government still considered it as the part to realize market diversification. (T2)