Indonesia’s ban on exports of palm oil, the world’s most consumed edible oil, is set to severely exacerbate the already-squeezed supply of cooking oil across the globe.
Developing nations are expected to take the biggest blow. The world’s biggest producer of palm oil will effectively ban exports of the good starting April 28, according to Indonesian President Joko Widodo. The halting of shipments of the cooking oil and its raw material is expected to help tame soaring domestic prices.
“I will monitor and evaluate the implementation of this policy so availability of cooking oil in the domestic market becomes abundant and affordable,” Widodo said.
Indonesia accounts for more than a third of global vegetable-oil exports, with China and India among its top buyers.