JAKARTA- Indonesia is prepared to widen a palm oil export ban, which currently only applies to refined palm olein, if local shortages of derivative products used in cooking oil occur, according to details of an official meeting with companies.
The world’s biggest palm oil exporter plans from Thursday to stop shipments of refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) palm olein but will allow exports of crude palm oil or other derivative products, senior government official MusdhalifahMachmud said on Tuesday.
However, authorities will strictly monitor domestic supply of refined palm oil and crude palm oil, which are used as raw materials to make RBD olein, according to details in a government presentation which was verified by Machmud.
“If there is shortage of refined palm oil, then further export bans can be carried out,” read one slide, which was presented to palm oil companies on Monday.
President Joko Widodo announced the export ban on exports of cooking oil and its raw material on Friday in an effort to control soaring local prices, but at the time provided no details.