Importers worried as Indonesia looks to raise palm oil levies to fund biodiesel mandate

In Indonesia, Reuters reports there are concerns that planned increased to palm oil export levies to boost funding for its biodiesel blending program would in turn cut demand for the vegetable oil whose prices have been strengthening recently. At the moment levies are set at $55 per metric ton but a new sliding scale is proposed that would go as high as $255/ton, depending on the price of crude palm oil. The price spread between fossil fuel and palm oil is currently $400 per ton.