Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil producer, announced an export ban on April 22 amid an ongoing edible oil crisis in the country. The country’s President Joko Widodo said he decided to indefinitely ban the export of edible oil and its raw material palm oil from April 28. He added that the policy will be “monitored and evaluated” until Indonesia has an “adequate and affordable” supply of cooking oil. Edible oil is one of the main products derived from palm oil. It is widely used in local dishes in Indonesia, but prices have soared since late last year…
Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil producer, announced an export ban on April 22 amid an ongoing edible oil crisis in the country. The country’s President Joko Widodo said he decided to indefinitely ban the export of edible oil and its raw material palm oil from April 28.
He added that the policy will be “monitored and evaluated” until Indonesia has an “adequate and affordable” supply of cooking oil.
Edible oil is one of the main products derived from palm oil. It is widely used in local dishes in Indonesia, but prices have soared since late last year and have risen further due to disruptions in the supply of cooking oil due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Edible oil prices have doubled in recent months
Supply issues led to a shortage of cooking oil on store shelves in Indonesia earlier this year. While that has improved in recent weeks, prices remain high, about double what they were a few months ago, fueling inflation concerns during the current Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
A shortage of local cooking oil has roiled the country, leading to street protests against high food prices. The government has introduced cash subsidies and deployed police surveillance to safeguard national distribution to control prices and ensure adequate supply. Indonesian police have deployed 24-hour surveillance of cooking oil production and distribution as rising food prices become a key political issue in the country.
