04.02.2021 (www.marketscreener.com) - JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's palm oil exports fell 9% last year as global demand was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI) said on Thursday, while forecasting exports would recover in 2021.

Indonesia, the world's biggest producer of the vegetable oil, exported 34 million tonnes of palm oil and its refined products in 2020.

Exports to China and Europe dropped last year, while shipments to India and Pakistan still saw some growth, GAPKI data showed.

Output of the oil, used in a wide range of products, from food to cleaning products, stood at 47 million tonnes last year, down slightly from 2019.

Domestic use of palm oil in 2020 was around 4% higher despite lower demand from hotels and restaurants, GAPKI chairman Joko Supriyono told a virtual media briefing.

Sales were helped by Indonesia's mandatory biodiesel programme to ensure a 30% bio-content from palm oil, known as B30, as well as higher demand for oleochemicals to produce cleaning products, he said.

Indonesia had 4.87 million tonnes of stock at the end of 2020.

In 2021, GAPKI forecast production of CPO would increase to 49 million tonnes and exports of palm oil to climb to 37.5 million tonnes, Joko said.

"The world's vegetable oil demand will very much be dependent on the success of COVID-19 vaccinations," GAPKI said in statement, noting inoculation drives could boost economic activity and lift consumption of vegetable oils, including palm oil.

(Reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe, Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Martin Petty and Ed Davies)

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