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Cooking oil price still far above target needed to lift export ban
As the vital ingredient in Indonesian cuisine remains more expensive than the government wants, a quick resumption of crude palm oil (CPO) shipments is not in sight.
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People queue to purchase subsidized cooking oil provided by local authorities in Surabaya on Feb. 18, 2022, in an effort to stabilize prices due to shortages. (AFP/Juni Kriswanto)
T
he price of cooking oil remains far above Rp 14,000 (US$0.97) per liter, a cap the government has said must be met in order for the palm oil export ban to be lifted.
Almost a week after the shipment of cooking oil and cooking oil materials – notably crude palm oil (CPO) – was suspended, the absence of a substantial decline in domestic market prices raises questions about the effectiveness of the ban.
The national average price of subsidized bulk cooking oil had dropped to Rp 17,200 per liter on Wednesday, Trade Ministry data show, which is down only 1.15 percent over the course of the week since the ban started, on April 28.
However, the ministry data also show that bulk cooking oil was still sold at Rp 18,491 per liter in Jakarta and even at prices surpassing Rp 20,000 per liter in other major provinces, like Banten and West Java.
“So far, the export ban has not had any big effect [on the bulk cooking oil price],” Indonesian Vegetable Oil Refiners Association (GIMNI) executive director Sahat Sinaga told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Read also: Indonesia to ban exports of cooking oil, ingredients
Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said on April 27 that the export ban would remain in place until the bulk cooking oil price came down to Rp 14,000 per liter across Indonesia.
