Indonesia: Jokowi wants 30% biodiesel in cars as soon as Jan 20

• President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said during a cabinet meeting that he wanted to increase the portion of diesel blended with crude palm oil (CPO) from the current 20% (B20) to 30% (B30) starting Jan 20 and to 50% (B50) by the end of 2020.
• He added that such a move would strengthen Indonesia’s “bargaining position” now that it is locked in a trade spat with Europe.
• The leap is expected to bring down imports of oil, which drags down Indonesia’s trade balance and by extension, its current account position, while also generating domestic demand for CPO amid external uncertainties affecting CPO prices, said Jokowi.
• Speaking after the Cabinet meeting, Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry was conducting tests over the usage of B30, which was expected to be finished by mid-Sep 19. He added that currently, no serious issues were found in the tests.
• Cumulatively, the distributed FAME stood at 3.49 million kiloliters as of Jul 19, or 56% of 6.19 million kiloliters of FAME targeted to be used as a biodiesel blend in 2019, and saved up to USD1.7bn in foreign exchange due to fewer oil imports, according to data from the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister.

External Link : https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/08/12/jokowi-wants-30-biodiesel-in-cars-as-soon-as-january-next-year.html