China will up its imports of palm oil from Indonesia by over 500,000 tons in 2018, said Premier Li Keqiang on Monday, as Indonesia’s key markets begin to rein back their demand for the crop fuel.
Li made the comments during his two-day trip to the country, which is currently the world’s largest producer of palm oil with annual exports of 30 million tons.
China is Indonesia’s third largest customer after India and the European Union, which is considering bans on palm oil imports due to the link between its farming and deforestation, reports the Wall Street Journal.
According to Indonesia’s foreign minister, China’s increased appetite for palm oil is because of its plans to produce a blended biofuel with diesel. Palm oil is also used to make detergents and cosmetics.