Breaking News-PREVIEW-Indonesia to hike Jan palm oil export tax to 3 pct

JAKARTA, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Indonesia, the world's top crude palm oil (CPO) producer, may hike the export tax to 3 percent in January from zero now because of higher prices, but the move is unlikely to hit exports given tight global supply.
Trade ministry and industry officials meet every month to decide the tax rate for the following month, using the average spot CPO prices in Rotterdam in the preceding 30 days as a reference price. Their next meeting will take place next week.
"As palm oil prices are predicted to continue to rise to 3,000 ringgit ($873.36) per tonne next year, we expect the export tax to rise further due to the progressive tax system," Susanto Yang, head of the marketing division at the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI), told Reuters.
The existing CPO export tax system, aimed at safeguarding domestic supply and reducing volatility in cooking oil prices, allows the government to impose tax rates from 1.5 percent to 25 percent.