Singapore-listed Indofood Agri Resources (IFAR.SI) said on Friday third quarter net profit fell 18% year-on-year on the strengthening of the Indonesian rupiah and a smaller increase in the fair value of its biological assets.

Indofood Agri, Indonesia’s top cooking oil seller and a unit of giant noodle-maker Indofood Sukses Makmur (INDF.JK), also said it retained more crude palm oil for its own refinery instead of selling in the market, to lock in supplies.

The company said third quarter net profit was 259.06 billion rupiah ($37.56 million) against 316.46 billion rupiah in the year-ago period. Revenue dropped 7.4% to 2.3 trillion rupiah.

However, the company remained upbeat.

“We expect the demand outlook for palm oil to remain positive in 2011 with the improving global economic climate, supported by robust consumption growth from India, China and other emerging Asian economies, and coupled with stronger demand for biodiesel driven by government mandates in Europe, Brazil and Argentina,” said CEO Mark Wakeford.

“The demand for palm oil products, and domestic consumption patterns supported by the population growth in Indonesia, will remain resilient in the short to medium-term.”