RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The Indonesian government has raised the reference price for crude palm oil (CPO) for April 2026, citing stronger global demand and geopolitical pressures affecting supply.

The Trade Ministry set the CPO reference price at USD 989.63 per metric ton (MT) for the April 1–30 period, up 5.41 percent from USD 938.87/MT in March. The reference price serves as the basis for calculating export duties and levies imposed on the commodity.

Trade Ministry Foreign Trade Director General Tommy Andana said the increase was driven by demand outpacing supply due to declining production and rising crude oil prices linked to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

“In addition, crude oil prices have increased due to the geopolitical situation in the Middle East,” Tommy said in a statement issued on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, as quoted on the ministry's official website.

Based on prevailing regulations, the export duty for CPO in April is set at USD 148/MT, in line with Finance Ministry Regulation No. 38/2024 and its amendment under Regulation No. 68/2025.

Meanwhile, the export levy stands at USD 123.7035/MT, or 12.5 percent of the reference price, as stipulated in Regulation No. 69/2025 and its amendment under Regulation No. 9/2026.

Tommy explained that the CPO reference price was calculated using the average prices recorded between Feb. 20 and March 19, 2026. During that period, prices averaged USD 896.94/MT on the Indonesian CPO exchange, USD 1,082.31/MT on the Malaysian exchange, and USD 1,319.84/MT in Rotterdam.

Under Trade Ministry Regulation No. 35/2025, when the price gap among the three sources exceeds USd 40, the reference price is calculated using the two values closest to the median. In this case, the Indonesian and Malaysian exchange prices were used, resulting in the April reference price of USD 989.63/MT.

The government also imposed an export duty of USD 33/MT on branded packaged cooking oil products of refined, bleached, and deodorized (RBD) palm olein with a maximum net weight of 25 kilograms, as stipulated in Trade Ministry Decree No. 561/2026.

In contrast, the reference price for cocoa beans fell sharply to USD 3,190.63/MT in April, down 21.17 percent from March. The decline led to a drop in the cocoa export benchmark price to USD 2,886/MT, a decrease of 22.46 percent.

“The decline in cocoa prices was driven by increased supply due to improved production in major producing countries, which was not matched by higher demand,” Tommy said.

Export duty and levy rates for cocoa beans were both set at 5 percent for the April period.

Meanwhile, the export benchmark price for pine resin rose slightly to USD 916/MT, while prices for leather products remained unchanged from the previous month.

Export benchmark prices for several wood products increased, including veneer from natural and plantation forests, wooden sheets for packing boxes, and processed wood with cross-sectional areas of 1,000–4,000 square millimeters derived from meranti, mixed tropical hardwoods, ebony, and plantation species such as pine, gmelina, acacia, sengon, rubber, balsa, and eucalyptus.

However, benchmark prices declined for processed wood of the same size category made from merbau and certain teak varieties.

Prices remained unchanged for wood chips, particleboard, chipwood, and processed wood sourced from sungkai plantations, as well as specialized processed merbau wood with cross-sectional areas of 4,000–10,000 square millimeters.

The updated reference and export benchmark prices are stipulated in Trade Ministry Decree No. 560/2026, which governs agricultural and forestry products subject to export duties and public service agency levies. ***