Riau FFB Prices Diverge: Plasma Falls, Independent Partners Rise

Pekanbaru — Riau's fresh fruit bunch (FFB) price-setting team issued divergent rates for partner growers on 20 October 2026, covering 21–27 October. For nine-year-old palms, the plasma-scheme price fell IDR 37.97 to IDR 3,745.42 per kilogram, while the independent-partner scheme rose IDR 75.48 to IDR 3,679.40 per kilogram. These are rates for different partnership arrangements, not a universal farmgate price for every grower in the province.

Two schemes, opposite directions

InfoSAWIT reported the plasma rate of IDR 3,745.42/kg for nine-year-old palms from the price-setting minutes. Riau Aktual reported that it was IDR 37.97, or about 1%, below the preceding period. The plasma rate for palms aged 10–20 years was IDR 3,725.04/kg; that figure should not be confused with the highest rate, which applies to nine-year-old palms.

For independent growers who are part of the partner scheme, RiauBISA and Riau Aktual reported a nine-year-old palm rate of IDR 3,679.40/kg, up IDR 75.48 or 2.09%. Its 10–20-year-old palm rate was IDR 3,640.55/kg. The difference between the two scheduled rates is not a measure of net earnings across all farms: harvest volumes, fruit quality and contractual arrangements also matter.

Different inputs to the pricing formula

Riau plantation official Defris Hatmaja told Riau Aktual that the CPO sale-price input in the plasma calculation fell IDR 190.78/kg from the previous period, while the palm-kernel input rose IDR 257.98/kg. InfoSAWIT reported a weighted-average CPO price of IDR 14,995.75/kg for plasma-related sales during 12–18 October and a kernel price of IDR 12,489.75/kg. The plasma K index was set at 93.69%, with shell value at IDR 14.73/kg.

The independent-partner calculation moved in the other direction. Defris said its CPO input rose IDR 113.77/kg and the kernel input increased IDR 758.39/kg. RiauBISA reported an input price of IDR 14,836.06/kg for CPO and IDR 13,103/kg for kernel in that scheme. The K index was 93.76%, while the shell value was IDR 21.49/kg. Each scheme uses its own sales observations; these input prices are not interchangeable with a single national daily CPO tender quotation.

Riau Aktual also reported that some palm oil mills did not record sales during the reference period. Defris described how the pricing mechanism draws on the team's average and, under a further validation procedure, can use the benchmark of the state-linked joint marketing office KPBN. Reading the final FFB prices without their grower category, palm age and formula inputs would conceal the reason they moved differently.

Why this matters for the biodiesel supply chain

FFB is processed into crude palm oil, a feedstock that can also enter biodiesel production. Yet opposite movements in Riau's two FFB price-setting schemes do not establish that the B50 fuel programme caused either change. The contemporaneous reports attribute the weekly calculations to different CPO and kernel inputs. Readers tracking the feedstock chain can compare the FFB price series with CPO benchmarks, while checking that the dates, units and grower schemes match.

Both rates apply from Wednesday, 21 October, through Tuesday, 27 October. Nine-year-old palms command the highest listed rate in each report, while 10–20-year-old palms offer a more conventional reference group for comparisons across provinces. Neither partner-grower schedule guarantees the price paid to every non-partner smallholder or every mill in Riau.