26/10/2007 (The Star Online), Jakarta - Indonesia, the world's largest palm oil producer, will raise the export tax rate on crude palm oil to 10% next month, a trade ministry official said.

“The tax rate will be raised to 10% '' for November, Diah Maulida, the director-general for foreign trade, said in Jakarta yesterday.

The government raised the export tax rate on crude palm oil (CPO) to 7.5% from 6.5% on Sept 3 amid concern that domestic shortages of cooking oil may fuel inflation. CPO exports are taxed at a base price determined by the trade ministry every month using global rates.

Palm oil was the country's largest agricultural export revenue earner in 2006.

Maulida did not give the November base price for calculating the tax on exports of palm oil. On Sept 27, the government increased the October base price to US$760 a tonne from US$733 in September. -Bloomberg-