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By Bernadette Christina and Rajendra Jadhav
JAKARTA/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indonesia's crude and refined palm oil exports surged 62.2% in February from a month ago to reach a four-month high, the statistics bureau said on Monday, as Jakarta's move to lower export taxes attracted buyers away from Malaysia.
Higher palm oil exports from Indonesia, the world's biggest producer of the tropical oil, will help in bringing down stocks and support prices that are currently holding a premium over rival soyoil.
Indonesia exported 2.06 million metric tons of crude and refined palm oil in February, the highest since October, the bureau data showed. Exports were up 45.1% from February 2024.
The bureau's data excludes palm kernel oil, oleochemicals and biodiesel. Indonesia's palm oil association GAPKI usually releases its own data at a later date, which cover more products and so has different export figures.
The decrease in export taxes, which resulted in Indonesian palm oil prices falling below Malaysian levels, sped up exports in February, said Anilkumar Bagani, research head of Mumbai-based vegetable oil broker Sunvin Group.
"Buyers shifted to Indonesia from Malaysia because of lower prices, which is why Malaysia's exports fell in February."
Malaysia's palm oil exports in February fell 16.27% from a month ago to hit a 4-year low of 1 million tons.
Indonesia lowered its crude palm oil (CPO) reference price for February, reducing the export tax to $124 per ton from $178 in January.
Indonesia's palm oil stocks are unlikely to rise sharply despite curbs on used cooking oil, as rising exports coincide with the country's implementation of a 40% mandatory biodiesel blend, a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house said.
The sustained export momentum of palm oil, despite its premium over soybean oil, will help keep its prices elevated, he said.
Palm oil mainly competes with soyoil and sunflower oil supplies from Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine.
(Reporting by Bernadette Christina and Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by John Mair and Rashmi Aich)
