September 18 International Fertilizer and Agricultural News

September 21, 2026

FDD-global.com

9915

Guide

Highlights at a glance

Indonesia will uphold the B50 biodiesel mandate in 2027 while exploring a further 10% HVO integration into diesel fuels to ramp up renewable energy use. Infrastructure upgrades and a planned HEFA facility are critical to achieving these goals. Despite challenges like limited processing capacity, these efforts align with the country’s sustainability ambitions.

Indonesia to Maintain 50% Biodiesel Blending Mandate in 2027

Indonesia will continue implementing its target of blending 50% biodiesel with fossil diesel, known as B50, in 2027, the country's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, or ESDM, said today at the sixth Palm Biodiesel Conference in Bali.However, the ministry's director general, Eniya Listiani Dewi, said that in addition to maintaining the 50% biodiesel blend, the government plans to consider adding a further 10% hydrotreated vegetable oil, or HVO, component to the diesel fuel system next year.Indonesia currently requires diesel with a cetane number, or CN, of 51 to contain 5% HVO. According to ESDM data, domestic sales of CN51 diesel totaled 1.1 million kiloliters in 2025. CN48 diesel recorded the second-largest sales volume at 1.3 million kiloliters, while CN53 diesel sales totaled 520,000 kiloliters.Raising the HVO blending rate to 10% across all diesel fuel grades would be difficult, as Indonesia currently has no dedicated hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids, or HEFA, hydrotreating capacity.State-owned oil company Pertamina can only conduct co-processing at its Dumai refinery, where annual HVO processing capacity is limited to a maximum of 45,000 tonnes. Domestically produced pure HVO is not scheduled to enter the market until 2030.By that time, a HEFA facility is expected to be completed at the Plaju refinery in South Sumatra. It will have combined annual HVO and sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, output of approximately 890,000 tonnes. According to Argus, the project has yet to reach a final investment decision.Dewi added that Indonesia would allow at least one year for infrastructure and supply chain upgrades before further increasing its biodiesel blending rate.

HVO has chemical properties broadly similar to those of fossil diesel and is a drop-in fuel that can be used in road vehicle engines without additional modifications. Conventional biodiesel, by contrast, requires more extensive testing to ensure stability during use.

France May Use Barley to Fill the Gap Left by Reduced Rapeseed Plantings

French farmers may expand their winter barley acreage during the 2027 crop season while reducing rapeseed plantings. However, dry weather and the decline in barley prices relative to wheat could limit the increase in barley acreage.Argus forecasts that EU rapeseed acreage for the 2027 crop could fall by approximately 5% year on year because dry soils hindered fieldwork through the end of the optimal rapeseed planting window in mid-September. France is expected to record a particularly significant decline.Weather forecasts indicate that dry conditions will persist for another two weeks, leaving limited scope for planting progress to recover. If farmers miss the appropriate planting window, they may switch to other crops, creating the possibility of a further decline in rapeseed acreage.Land released from rapeseed production could be used to expand winter barley plantings. This trend would become more pronounced if rainfall arrives before the main barley planting window from late September to early November.At present, soil moisture is inadequate across large areas of France. Even though this year's corn harvest began earlier and fields can therefore be made available sooner for winter grain planting, soil moisture shortages will continue to discourage farmers from planting barley early.If weather conditions subsequently improve, current forecasts indicate that European barley acreage in the 2026-27 marketing year, which runs from July through June, could approach a historical high.Argus estimates that EU winter barley acreage for the 2027 crop will reach 5.42 million hectares, up from 5.30 million hectares in the previous year and the highest level in at least 15 years. In France alone, winter barley acreage is expected to reach 1.4 million hectares, its highest level since the 2016-17 season.However, price support has weakened during the past several weeks as farmers finalize their planting decisions. From mid-October 2025 to early March 2026, delivered prices for feed barley from the 2025 French harvest at Rouen frequently matched wheat prices and, during some periods, traded at a premium of more than EUR 10/tonne over wheat.Prices remained supported while barley from the 2026 crop was still growing. From early May to late June this year, the discount for feed barley delivered to Rouen relative to wheat was only EUR 5-10/tonne, significantly narrower than the usual price difference between the two crops.Since then, barley's price advantage relative to wheat has gradually diminished. Euronext wheat futures have rebounded during the past two months, while feed barley prices have failed to rise in tandem.Current quotations for French feed barley delivered to Rouen between January and March are approximately EUR 18/tonne below the March wheat futures contract.Whether barley can regain its price advantage relative to wheat over the coming weeks may become a key factor in farmers' winter planting decisions. Against this backdrop, farmers have little incentive to forward sell barley from the 2027 crop.Dry weather remains a significant source of uncertainty. If actual winter barley acreage falls short of expectations that it will approach historical highs, this could support barley prices later in the season.In addition, France's smaller corn crop this year means that the domestic livestock industry could face a shortage of feed corn before the following year's corn harvest. Regardless of the amount of corn planted next spring, the arrival of new-crop barley in June and July 2027 could immediately attract additional feed demand.Conditions in the wheat market are different. Some growers have already begun making forward sales to lock in prices for part of their 2027 wheat crop.

September 18 International Forex News

September 20 International Forex News