JakartaPost-Apr 25, 2022
A cooking oil crisis that was initially triggered by the Russian-Ukrainian war is now shaking up both domestic politics and the global supply chain after the government announced last week it would ban all exports of crude palm oil (CPO), a key ingredient of cooking oils, amid a series of student protests against skyrocketing food prices. The government is under increasing pressure to control inflation, in particular the surging prices of much sought-after cooking oils. This has become a rallying cry for student protesters already miffed by recent controversies over a proposal floated by avid supporters of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to delay the 2024 presidential election and extend his final term in office. While the export ban is set to disrupt the global supply, the cooking oil crisis has taken a political turn in Indonesia, with a member of the nation’s largest ruling party claiming that the crisis was linked to the efforts to extend the President’s term. The government’s CPO export ban, which has shocked the global market, came only two days after the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) detained a senior Trade Ministry official and three corporate executives over alleged violations in processing palm oil export permits. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2022/04/24/cooking-oil-crisis-shakes-up-ri-politics-global-supplies.html
