Indonesia to ban palm oil exports from April 28

With the Eid holiday arriving on April 29, on April 25, the Indonesian government issued a ban on the export of palm oil and its industrial raw materials with the aim of ensuring availability during one of highest consumption periods when millions of people finally able to return to their hometowns after two years.

The ban followed skyrocketing prices during the last three years from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Cooking oil is an essential commodity for Indonesians and price fluctuations, along with already high soybean prices have evoked protests from grassroots communities. At the moment, it is speculated the ban could be a short-term 'shock therapy' to manufacturers more favored to sell their goods out of Indonesia as global commodity prices continue to rise.