Agriculture & food
Indonesian palm kernel shell
Palm kernel shell is the hard shell left after the kernel is pressed at a palm oil mill. It burns well, it is produced in enormous quantity as a by-product, and it is bought by power and heat generators who contract it on calorific value, moisture and ash.
How it leaves the country.
- Raw shell
- Screened and dried at the mill or at a yard. The volume product, shipped in bulk or in bags.
- Washed and sieved
- Cleaned of fibre, dirt and stones. Higher price and a much better fit for a boiler that cares about ash.
- Torrefied or pelletised
- Processed further for handling and energy density. A different product with different economics and a smaller trade.
How it is graded.
No grade table. A fuel is contracted against a specification, and the properties below are what the buyer's boiler cares about.
- Calorific value
- The point of the product. Quoted on a stated basis, and the basis matters as much as the number, so confirm which one the offer uses.
- Moisture
- Water lowers the delivered energy and you pay freight on it. It is the property that moves most between mills and seasons.
- Ash and foreign matter
- Sand and dirt from yard handling end up as ash and as wear in the plant. Washed material exists precisely because of this.
- Chlorine and alkali
- Matters for boiler corrosion and it is why some buyers reject material that looks fine on calorific value alone.
- Sizing and fines
- Feed systems are built for a size range. Excessive fines cause handling problems that a laboratory report will not show.
How it is packed.
- Bulk vessel or containers
- Large tonnages move in bulk carriers, smaller ones in containers with liners. The two routes have completely different economics.
- Self-heating in transit
- Biomass in bulk can heat and, in poor conditions, ignite. Moisture control and ventilation are safety questions rather than quality ones.
- Fumigation and plant health
- A plant product, so destinations apply their own requirements and treatment is commonly needed.1
Where it grows.
Riau
Sumatra
The densest concentration of palm oil mills in the country, with Dumai as the export port.
North Sumatra
Sumatra
Long-established mills and shipping through Belawan.
Central Kalimantan
Borneo
Large milling capacity, with river and coastal legs before an ocean vessel.
West Kalimantan
Borneo
Mills feeding export through Pontianak.
Documentation, where applicable.
- Certificate of analysis
- Calorific value, moisture, ash, chlorine and sizing on the shipped lot, on a stated basis.
- Phytosanitary certificate
- A plant product, so plant health applies against the destination's requirements.1
- Fumigation certificate
- Commonly required for bulk plant material, and the treatment record travels with the cargo.
- ISPO certificate
- Held by the plantation and the mill the shell came from. Compulsory under Indonesian law for palm oil businesses.2
- Certificate of origin
- Which form applies depends on the destination and the preference scheme in force with Indonesia.
Questions buyers ask.
Who buys palm kernel shell?
Power and heat generators, largely in East Asia, plus industrial users with biomass boilers. It is a fuel, so the buyer is an energy operation rather than a manufacturer, and the conversation is about delivered energy per tonne rather than about the product itself.
What is the most common dispute?
Moisture, and the basis a calorific value was quoted on. Two offers can look far apart and be identical once you convert them to the same basis, and a wet cargo is energy you paid freight to move. Settle the basis in the contract before comparing prices.
Do buyers ask for sustainability documentation?
Increasingly, yes, and it is the part that takes time. The shell comes from a mill, the mill is fed by plantations, and ISPO certification is compulsory for those plantations under Indonesian law. What a specific buyer requires beyond that depends on their own market and their own regulator.
What does your service cost?
Five per cent of the order value, paid by you and never by the factory. A factory audit starts at $250 depending on location. We work with orders from $10,000 per shipment.
Worth reading.
Tell us what you need.
Give us the specification and the destination port. We come back with producer options and an indicative price. Our fee is 5 % of the order value, paid by you and never by the factory.
Sources
- 1Badan Karantina Indonesia, the national quarantine agency. Republic of Indonesia. Checked 3 August 2026.
- 2Presidential Regulation 16/2025 on the Indonesian sustainable palm oil certification system. Database Peraturan, Republic of Indonesia. Checked 5 August 2026.