Indonesia to hold crude palm oil, cocoa export tariff steady in May

JAKARTA, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government will keep export tax for crude palm oil at zero percent in May and will again impose 5 percent tariff for cocoa, the trade ministry said on Thursday.

The reference price for the crude pal oil remains below threshold of 750 U.S. dollars per metric ton, said director general for foreign trade at the ministry Oke Nurwan.

"At present the price weakens to below threshold, so that the government impose zero tariff for shipment in May," he said in a statement.

The decision to keep the tax unchanged next month is the 19th as the crude palm oil reference price has been under the threshold.

For cocoa, despite its reference price was up 8.14 percent to 2,561.09 per metric ton, the export tax remained unchanged for May, said Nurwan.

Indonesia is the world's largest producer and exporter of crude palm oil, followed by Malaysia.

The country is also among the world's top three cocoa producers along with the Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana. Enditem