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

If carried out, the B40 required might increase biodiesel consumption to up to 16 million kilolitres (KL) next year, the ministry said, from 13 million KL approximated to be consumed in 2024.

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

The Indonesian Biofuel Producers Association (APROBI) said the market had the capability to meet B40 demand, with installed capacity anticipated to increase to 20 million KL every year next year from 18 million KL now.

“However we will require more raw products to meet B40 demand,” Ernest Gunawan, the secretary general of APROBI informed Reuters on Wednesday.

The biodiesel market would require 13.9 million metric tons of crude palm oil to produce 16 million KL biodiesel next year, from the approximated 11 million tons required this year, he included.

Indonesia’s greatest palm oil association GAPKI stated a decrease in exports suggested there would be enough basic materials to provide the B40 mandate in the meantime.

But the industry would require to assess “which one would be better”, GAPKI chairman Eddy Martono said, referring to the possibility an increase in exports would make supplying the domestic market less feasible.

Indonesia’s palm oil output is approximated to reach 54.4 million lots in 2024, a 2.26% boost from in 2015, while exports are anticipated to decline by 2.47% to 29.5 million tons as domestic intake increased, driven by biodiesel required.

The ministry had actually evaluated the biodiesel, mixed with 40% of palm oil, on a train for the first time previously this week, while preparing to evaluate the B40 mix on farming equipment, and in the shipping industry, it stated. (Reporting by Bernadette Christina and Dewi Kurniawati