Why Indonesia Ban Waste Palm Oil Export?

RRI.CO.ID, Bogor – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto recently announced a ban on the export of waste cooking palm oil. This move is expected to maximize the domestic use of palm oil, particularly for aviation fuel, but it also affects export activities that have long restricted.

Prabowo announced the ban during the National Coordination Meeting of the Central and Regional Governments in Bogor Regency, West Java, on Monday, 2 February 2026. He stated that this step could support Indonesia's potential to become the world’s largest producer of aviation fuel.

"Palm oil can be turned into jet fuel. We can eventually become the largest jet fuel producer in the world," he said.

Avtur is a type of aviation fuel specifically used for turbine aircraft engines. Avtur is generally produced from petroleum, but in recent years, non-fossil-based aviation fuels – such as synthetic kerosene and jet fuel made from waste palm oil – have been under development.

​Data from Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources shows that in 2024, Indonesia’s demand for aviation fuel reached 4.5 million kiloliters. Meanwhile, total domestic production was only around 3 million kiloliters (18.8 million barrels), forcing Indonesia to import up to 1.7 million kiloliters of aviation fuel.

The United States, at least until 2014, is the world’s largest producer of aviation fuel. Data from the United States Energy Information Administration, cited by The Global Economy, indicates that the country produced more than 1.5 million barrels per day, followed by China and South Korea, while Indonesia ranked 24th.

More recently, non-fossil raw materials as alternatives to conventional avtur have been under development. One of these is bioavtur made from palm oil, which Indonesia is currently developing.

In 2021, the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) quoted a news source that the country is developing bioavtur J2.4, short of Jet Avtur 2.4. It is produced with a mixture of 2.4% refined bleached degummed palm kernel oil using a catalyst.

The J2,4 was produced in cooperation between Indonesian state-owned energy company Pertamina, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), and the Oil Palm Plantation Fund Management Board (BPDPKS). It has undergone a successful trial on a locally manufactured CN-235-220 aircraft.

"The ground run test of about 20 minutes shows that a total of 50 liters of bioavtur consumed... All was proceeding normally without any problem," Captain Adi Budi Atmoko, the aircraft testing pilot, said.

This success seems to offer hope that future jet fuel production can be supplied from palm oil. However, the Indonesian government’s push to boost jet fuel production from palm oil—and its derivatives such as B40 biodiesel—appears to be hampered by exports of waste palm oil.

Based on data from the country's Ministry of Trade, as reported by the Indonesian newspaper Kompas, total Indonesian exports of used cooking oil in 2019 reached USD 37.31 million. This figure grew by 43.7 percent compared to the 2018 value of USD 25.96 million.

Efforts to reduce these obstacles can be seen in the issuance of Minister of Trade Regulation No. 2 of 2025, enacted in January 2025. The regulation restricts three types of palm oil by-products: Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME), High Acid Palm Oil Residue (HAPOR), and "Used Cooking Oil" (UCO).

Article 3A of the regulation states that export policies for UCO and residues are to be discussed and agreed upon in inter-ministerial coordination meetings involving relevant ministries and non-ministerial government agencies. These meetings are responsible for determining the quantity limits of used cooking oil that may be exported.

However, restrictions on exports of waste palm oil now appear to have been replaced by a total ban. On the same occasion, Prabowo said that the interests of the Indonesian people, through palm-based fuel production, were the reason for this decision.

“Even, ladies and gentlemen, the waste from used palm oil can be turned into jet fuel. So, with apologies to other nations, I am closing it off. I am banning the export of palm oil waste; exports of waste cooking oil must first serve the interests of the Indonesian people,” he said, followed by applause.