Wednesday, October 24, 2012

RTRS- Indonesia may cut palm export tax to 10.5 pct in Nov -industry SMAR.JK WLIL.SI

JAKARTA, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Indonesia, the world's top palm oil producer, may cut its export tax for crude palm oil to 10.5 percent for November, from 13.5 percent for October, an industry group said on Tuesday.

Lower benchmark prices over the last month will prompt the government move, Fadhil Hasan, executive director of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (GAPKI), told Reuters.

From late August, benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures FCPOc3 have fallen by as much as 29 percent due to a slowing economic outlook and a rise in stocks, but have partly recovered to trade at about 2,541 ringgit ($833) per tonne on Tuesday.

Southeast Asia's largest economy has a palm export tax system that aims to boost downstream industries, secure domestic supplies and reduce volatility in cooking oil prices.

The tax rate for the subsequent month is calculated by government officials based on CIF Rotterdam prices, the Malaysian benchmark and Jakarta futures prices.