JAKARTA, July 24 (Reuters) - Indonesia, the world’s most significant palm oil producer, is evaluating fuel with a view to increasing to 40% from 35% the share of palm-oil mixed into biodiesel next year, the energy ministry stated.

If implemented, the B40 mandate might increase biodiesel usage to up to 16 million kilolitres (KL) next year, the ministry stated, from 13 million KL approximated to be consumed in 2024.

“We hope the trials could be ended up in December, so that complete implementation of B40 could be brought out in 2025,” energy ministry senior main Eniya Listiani Dewi stated in a declaration on Tuesday.

The Indonesian Biofuel Producers Association (APROBI) said the market had the capacity to satisfy B40 need, with installed capability anticipated to rise to 20 million KL yearly next year from 18 million KL now.

“However we will need more basic materials to satisfy B40 need,” Ernest Gunawan, the secretary general of APROBI told Reuters on Wednesday.

The biodiesel industry would require 13.9 million metric lots of unrefined palm oil to produce 16 million KL biodiesel next year, from the approximated 11 million heaps required this year, he included.

Indonesia’s biggest palm oil association GAPKI stated a decline in exports indicated there would suffice raw materials to the B40 mandate in the meantime.

But the market would require to examine “which one would be more valuable”, GAPKI chairman Eddy Martono said, referring to the possibility a boost in exports would make supplying the domestic market less feasible.

Indonesia’s palm oil output is estimated to reach 54.4 million tons in 2024, a 2.26% boost from in 2015, while exports are expected to decline by 2.47% to 29.5 million tons as domestic consumption rose, driven by biodiesel required.

The ministry had actually tested the biodiesel, blended with 40% of palm oil, on a train for the first time previously this week, while preparing to evaluate the B40 mix on agriculture machinery, power plants and in the shipping market, it stated. (Reporting by Bernadette Christina and Dewi Kurniawati