Indonesia will ban the export of cooking oil and its raw materials from April 28 in order to address the domestic shortage and curb the rising cost of cooking oil, President Joko Widodo said on Friday.
“I monitor and evaluate the implementation of this policy. [that] The availability of cooking oil in the domestic market will be plentiful and affordable, “the president said in a video broadcast, local media Tempo.co. report.
Authorities have struggled to control the domestic market for palm oil-based edible oil after a 40% surge in prices at the beginning of the year due to global highs, with an average edible oil price of IDR 26,436 (1.84) per liter. It was a dollar).
The Indonesian government has set a cap on bulk cooking oil of IDR 14,000 ($ 0.98) per liter, but according to data from the Ministry of Trade, it sold for more than IDR 18,000 ($ 1.24) this month.
“We have confirmed that subsidies to producers who have been in operation for several weeks have not yet worked. We can see that many of the large quantities of cooking oil in the market are not at the prescribed price. [highest retail price].. This certainly means that there is fraudulent play, “Widodo said.
The decision is made after hundreds of college students collected Outside the parliament of the capital Jakarta, protesting the high price of cooking oil and the extension of Widdo’s term. Police reportedly fired tear gas and water cannons to dissolve the protesters.
A Jakarta police chief said a university instructor attending the demonstration was seriously injured after a “non-student” group beat and trampled him. Six police officers who tried to help the instructor were also injured.
Indonesia, the world’s number one producer of palm oil, previously decided to sell some of its planned exports to local buyers under the so-called domestic market obligations to control national edible oil prices. I was requesting a palm oil company.
Providing evidence that palm oil was in circulation domestically was a major requirement for securing export licenses during that period.
On Wednesday, the president urged authorities to conduct a full investigation of corruption cases related to the issuance of palm oil licenses, which led to a shortage of cooking oil and rising prices in the country, he said. Local report.
“The Attorney General’s office has determined four suspects in the cooking oil case, and I request [authorities] Investigate until it finishes.So we can know who is playing [with the crude palm oil export]”He said in a video broadcast.
Indonesian authorities Research He was involved in allegations of corruption related to the issuance of palm oil licenses and charged four individuals, including trade ministry officials and palm oil company executives.
Reuters contributed to this report.
follow
Aldgra Fredly is a Malaysia-based freelance writer featuring the Epoch Times Asia Pacific News.