MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indonesia's consumption of biodiesel fell by 8.2% year on year in the first four months of 2021, data from the country's producers' association showed, as transportation demand remained muted due to the coronavirus pandemic, reported Reuters.
Domestic consumption of biodiesel was 2.669 million kilolitres in the January to April period, down from 2.907 million kilolitres last year, according to the Indonesian biodiesel producers' association (Aprobi).
"Transportation movement has still not recovered to 2019 levels," Paulus Tjakrawan, vice chairman of Aprobi told Reuters.
Biodiesel output however, edged 1.4% higher in January-April to 2.95 million kilolitres, compared to a year earlier. Meanwhile, exports were 16,637 kilolitres, the data showed, more than seven times higher than last year.
Indonesia is the world's biggest producer of palm oil, and its government has mandated that diesel must be blended with at least 30% of the edible oil.
Indonesia expects to consume 9.6 million kilolitres of biodiesel in 2022, up from the 9.2 million kilolitres targeted for this year, official data showed in April. By 2030, the data estimates the country will consume 14 million kilolitres of biofuel.
As MRC informed before, Indonesia's largest petrochemical producer Chandra Asri and Netherlands-based storage and terminal operator Vopak are planning to set up an infrastructure joint venture in Indonesia. The two companies signed a letter of intent on 5 October, 2020, to set up the partnership, which aims to establish a new jetty and tank farm business that will serve third-party customers and to build secondary infrastructure at Chandra Asri's new petrochemical complex.
Chandra Asri's second petrochemical complex will include a 1.1mn t/yr naphtha-based cracker, 450,000 t/yr high-density polyethylene (HDPE) unit, 300,000 t/yr low-density polyethylene unit (LDPE) and a 450,000 t/yr polypropylene (PP) unit. The producer is aiming to commission the complex in 2024, barring any delays because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and PP, respectively.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. LDPE and HDPE shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC