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Indonesia bans palm oil exports, worsening global shortage of cooking oil, soap
Indonesia, the world’s largest producer of Palm oil on April 28, 2022 slammed shut its doors to exports of the vegetable oil product that is used in the production of a wide range of essential products such as cooking oil, soap shampoo and other cleaning items.
Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, in a televised address on Friday, justified the ban as necessary to ensure the availability of food products at home amid soaring inflation worldwide.
President Joko Widodo on Indonesia
Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer of Palm oil, has been hit with a poor harvest while its neighbour Malaysia, the second largest producer, is facing labour shortages arising from COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.
Indonesia is one of Uganda’s biggest sources of palm oil, which means that the export ban will almost likely worsen prices of cooking oil and soap in Uganda.
Although Uganda produces Palm oil from Kalangala islands, local production is not sufficient to meet demand and therefore supplements through imports.
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