B30 Deliveries Reach 4.3 Million kL in H1 2021; Not All Benefits Are FX Savings

Jakarta — Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) said 4.3 million kilolitres (kL) of B30 biodiesel had been distributed in the first half of 2021, or 46.7% of that year's target. In a 25 July statement, ESDM's new and renewable energy director-general Dadan Kusdiana estimated the programme's economic benefits at IDR 29.9 trillion. That figure was not entirely foreign-exchange savings: the ministry attributed IDR 24.6 trillion to avoided foreign-exchange spending and IDR 5.3 trillion to the added value of converting crude palm oil (CPO) into biodiesel.

B30 blends 30% biodiesel into diesel fuel and has been mandatory since January 2020. The half-year figures offer a snapshot of supply and distribution amid pandemic-related restrictions on mobility. Bisnis.com, reporting on the same day, also carried the ministry's distribution and benefit figures.

Distribution against the annual allocation

ESDM set a biodiesel allocation of 9.2 million kL for 2021. The 4.3 million kL distributed between January and June therefore represented progress at the midpoint, not completion of the annual target. The ministry projected average monthly uptake at about 766,000 kL. It said monthly purchase orders were fulfilled at an average rate of 93.03% in the first half, with the lowest uptake in January and the highest in June.

Twenty biofuel producers took part in procuring FAME biodiesel, while 20 fuel companies were responsible for blending. The allocated volume, the volume actually delivered and the rate of monthly purchase-order fulfilment describe different measures. Treating them as interchangeable could obscure where the programme was succeeding and where supply still fell short.

What the benefit estimate includes

The ministry broke its IDR 29.9 trillion estimate into IDR 24.6 trillion in foreign-exchange savings and IDR 5.3 trillion of value added from CPO processing. Calling the entire amount import savings would therefore misrepresent the release. ESDM also attributed a reduction of 11.4 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions to biodiesel use in the period. That is the government's reported estimate; the news release did not set out a detailed calculation method.

These claims relate directly to domestic demand for palm-based biodiesel. Distribution volumes alone, however, do not establish net gains for every participant in the supply chain or show what happened to CPO and fresh fruit bunch prices. A broader assessment would require separate cost, price and full-year delivery data.

Storage and delivery constraints

ESDM said pandemic restrictions had slowed biodiesel uptake in transport and industry. It also cited limited storage tanks, delays unloading FAME because of congestion at jetties, and equipment failures at biodiesel plants. Bisnis.com reported the same constraints in its account of Dadan's statement.

The ministry said it would press for more storage and jetty facilities, strengthen supervision and encourage producers to avoid unplanned shutdowns. Those were responses proposed in July 2021, not proof that the difficulties had already been resolved. ESDM remained optimistic that annual distribution could reach its target, but a first-half report could not establish the year-end outcome.

The midyear record thus shows both the scale of B30 deliveries and the operational bottlenecks that still mattered. Distinguishing an allocation from actual deliveries, and an economic-benefit estimate from foreign-exchange savings, is essential to reading this historical snapshot.