08/08/2011 (Business Times) - China and India helped push palm oil exports from the world's top producer, Indonesia, up almost 10 per cent in the first half of the year from the same period last year, the nation's palm oil association (GAPKI) said.

South-east Asia's biggest economy exported 8.2 million tonnes in the first six months of 2011 versus 7.47 million tonnes during the same period in 2010, Gapki said in a statement friday.

'The increase of the Indonesian palm oil was fuelled by the increase of import to India and China,' the statement said.

'India has surpassed China as the world's biggest buyer of palm oil as rising incomes . . . increased demand for fried and processed foods and drought reduced domestic production of cooking oil.'

'We predict that that the total export of palm oils in 2011 will reach around 18 million tonnes,' the statement added.

Palm oil exports consist of palm oils and kernel oils, and in the form of crude and processed oils.

The share of palm oil in the first half was 92.07 per cent, while the share of kernel oil was only 7.97 per cent, the statement added.

Crude palm oil exports were 56.02 per cent. The existing CPO export tax system, aimed at securing domestic supply and reducing volatility in cooking oil prices, allows the government to impose tax rates from 1.5 to 25 per cent.

Trade ministry and industry officials meet every month to decide the tax rate for the following month, using average spot CPO prices in Rotterdam in the preceding 30 days as a reference price.

Indonesia, however, could lower the maximum export tax rate in August.

Indonesia's crude palm oil output this year is estimated at 22.5 million tonnes to 23 million tonnes, from 21.6 million tonnes in 2010, Gapki said last month.