Indonesia's state marketing centre did not sell any of the 12,000 tonnes of crude palm oil offered in a local auction as buyers bid lower on concerns about an expected export tax increase, the centre said on Tuesday. The centre offered 5,500 tonnes of crude palm oil, free on board Dumai and Belawan ports in Sumatra island at 9,341 rupiah ($1.01) a kg. Buyers bid the highest at 9,269 rupiah a kg.
"Players worried about a possible higher export tax next month which put pressure on local prices," said an auction official at the centre which sells palm oil from state plantations.
The centre offered 1,000 tonnes of crude palm oil, free on board Siak port and 500 tonnes, ex-factory Tanjung Lebar in Jambi, all in Sumatra island. It also offered 2,000 tonnes of crude palm oil, free on board Palembang and 1,000 tonnes, free on board Bengkulu port. All are in southern Sumatra.
The centre offered 2,000 tonnes of crude palm oil, free on board West Kalimantan and East Kalimantan. Indonesia is the world's top palm oil producer with output expected to hit 18.6 million tonnes this year, accounting for more than 40 percent of global palm oil output.