The Association of Indonesian Oleochemical Producers (APOLIN) reported that Indonesia’s exports of oleochemical product has been continuously increasing during the last few years. But the oleochemical product is facing a challenge in the global market as the 27 member countries of European Union (EU) impose anti-dumping policy against fatty acid, while India imposes anti-subsidy policy against fatty-alcohol.
APOLIN Secretary General Rapolo Hutabarat said that the anti-dumping policy has significantly impacted Indonesia’s downstream palm oil industries.
“All member companies of APOLIN which used to export had decided to stop their exports of fatty acid. If there is any data of export to EU from BPS (Statistics Indonesia), it is through other schemes. It’s not direct exports,” Rapolo said during an iftar gathering organized by the Forum of Agricultural Journalists (Forwatan) with three downstream palm oil industries GIMNI, APROBI, and APOLIN in Jakarta on Wednesday (12/03/2025).
Rapolo said that they have filed a trade dispute against EU policy at the World Trade Organization (WTO). They had coordinated the trade issue with the trade ministry, industry ministry, and foreign ministry.
“Currently, its progress has been in the stage of establishing a panel. In that case the disputing parties have to submit 6.0 candidates that will be later jointly shortlisted to three. Those three persons will consist of one chairman and two members,” he said.
According to him, the second obstacle comes from India, which imposes anti-subsidy against fatty alcohol. There are four member companies of APOLIN, which export fatty alcohol to India. “Together with the trade ministry, we’re seeking to tackle this trade obstacle,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rapolo reported that in terms of export volume, the performance of oleochemical that is usually used for cosmetics and pharmacy is generally good.
In 2022, the volume of oleochemical export reached 4.2 million tons with total export value of US$5.4 billion. In 2023, the export volume rose to 4.6 million tons, but its value dropped to US$3.7 billion. It was because all of global commodities saw a decrease in prices. In 2024, the export volume increased to 4.8 million tons with a total export value of US$4.3 billion.
Source: Gapki.id & Sawit Indonesia
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