Indonesia, the world’s top cooking-oil exporter, says it’s going to ban exports of the oil this week, and it’s sent the global prices of oils soaring

Indonesia, the world’s top cooking-oil exporter, says it’s going to ban exports of the oil this week, and it’s sent the global prices of oils soaring

The world's top palm-oil producer announced that it will ban exports of the commodity starting Thursday, sending the prices of competing vegetable oils soaring. Indonesia accounts for about half of the world's supply of palm oil, the world's most widely used vegetable oil. Palm oil is used for cooking and for the production of thousands of consumer products including biscuits, detergents, and lipsticks. In a video statement on Friday, Indonesian President said the move was designed to bring down domestic palm-oil prices and ensure domestic food availability in the wake of global food inflation. "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, per a translation. The move comes as Indonesia has seen recent protests over the high prices of cooking oil, with retail prices gaining more than 40% so far this year, according to The ban is expected to be in place until further notice. Indonesian palm-oil exports are worth about $30 billion a year, according to data provider Indonesia's finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told on Friday the palm oil ban would hurt other countries, but that it was necessary to contain