Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – The Indonesian government has decided to resume cooking oil exports starting Monday, May 23, 2022, after looking at the current supplies and prices of the commodity, as well as considering the condition of workers and farmers in the palm oil industry.

"Based on the current supplies and prices of cooking oil, and considering that there are 17 million workers in the palm oil industry, including farmers, workers, and other supporting staffs, I have decided that cooking oil exports will reopen as of Monday, May 23, 2022, President Joko Widodo said at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Thursday.

The president emphasized that even though exports are reopened, the government will continue to monitor closely to ensure that supplies of cooking oil are met with affordable prices.

Since the policy of banning cooking oil exports was imposed, the government has continued to monitor and encourage various steps to ensure the availability of cooking oil in order to meet the people’s needs, he said, adding that based on direct inspections in the field and reports he received, there more supplies of cooking oil.

“The national demand for bulk cooking oil is approximately 194,000 tons per month. In March, before the export ban was imposed, our supplies only reached 64,500 tons. However, after the export ban was carried out in April, our supplies reached 211,000 tons per month, exceeding our monthly national need," the head of state noted.

He also explained that there was a decline in the national average prices of cooking oil. In April, before the export ban, the national average price of bulk cooking oil was around 19,800 rupiahs (1.35 U.S. dollars) per liter, and after the export ban, the national average price fell between 17,200 rupiahs (1.17 dollars) and 17,600 rupiahs (1.20 dollars) per liter.

However, the president admitted that the prices of cooking oil are still relatively high in some areas and he believed that in the next few weeks the prices of bulk cooking oil would be affordable.

Institutionally, the government will also revamp procedures and regulations at the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency so that they are more adaptive and give solution to the dynamics of domestic oil supplies and prices, he added.

Reporting by Indonesia Window