SPKS Backs B50 but Says 12.5% Export Levy Could Cut Farmers' FFB Price by IDR 833/kg

Jakarta — The Oil Palm Smallholders Union (SPKS) says it supports the B50 biodiesel mandate but rejects any arrangement that makes farmers pay for it through lower fresh fruit bunch (FFB) prices. SPKS calculates that raising the CPO export levy from 10% to 12.5% could push FFB prices down by about IDR 833 per kilogram. SPKS chair Sabarudin set out the union's position in Jakarta on Tuesday, 30 June 2026, the day before B50 took effect on 1 July 2026.

Backing B50, but not farmers bearing the cost

"We support B50 as a national strategic agenda," Sabarudin said, as quoted by Republika from ANTARA. He said the programme matters for energy security, for cutting fuel imports and for adding value to palm oil at home. What SPKS objects to, he stressed, is how the programme is run. "What we reject is B50 governance if its implementation costs are instead placed on farmers," he said, according to JawaPos and JPNN.

Sabarudin noted that the biodiesel mandate has risen step by step over almost a decade, from B15 through B20, B30, B35 and B40 to B50. In his view, the state gains energy security and industry gains added value, but farmers must not "pay for that success through lower FFB prices". "Energy security must go hand in hand with farmer welfare," he said.

SPKS estimates: losses of up to IDR 5 million a month

The levy that SPKS is worried about has been higher since early March 2026. According to DDTC News, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa raised the CPO export levy from 10% to 12.5% through Finance Minister Regulation (PMK) 9/2026, which amends PMK 69/2025. The regulation was promulgated on 27 February 2026. SPKS sees the higher levy as part of the cost of running B50, a cost it fears will ultimately be passed on to farmers.

SPKS estimated what the higher levy would mean for farmers' incomes, assuming FFB prices fall by about IDR 833 per kg. The figures below are SPKS estimates, not government data:

Plantation size	Potential monthly income loss
2 hectares	about IDR 1.67 million
3 hectares	about IDR 2.5 million
4 hectares	about IDR 3.3 million
5 hectares	about IDR 4.1 million
6 hectares	almost IDR 5 million

Nationally, Sabarudin put total losses for palm oil farmers at around IDR 499–500 billion a month, JawaPos reported. SPKS director of advocacy and legal affairs Andre added that, under such a scheme, "farmers could end up helping to finance the programme".

Demands: a full assessment of the impact on farmers

SPKS put several demands to the government:

• B50 must not create new downward pressure on farmers' FFB prices.
• B50 governance should be reviewed if farmers turn out to be bearing its costs.
• The government should carry out a full assessment of how the biodiesel mandate affects smallholder incomes and welfare. SPKS says no such assessment has been done at any stage of the mandate.
• Farmers should be treated as partners in the programme's success and share in its benefits, not just serve as raw material suppliers.

"We hope the cost of implementing this policy does not put new pressure on farmers' FFB prices," Sabarudin said, as quoted by Republika. "Energy security will be stronger if farmers, as feedstock producers, also prosper."

The IDR 833 per kg figure is an SPKS calculation. The actual effect on FFB prices in each region will still depend on the weekly prices set by provincial plantation offices and on CPO price movements. The latest prices can be tracked on our prices page, and related biodiesel rules are summarised on our biodiesel regulations page.