President Jokowi officially banned the export of cooking oil, including its raw material, palm oil.
This ban was implemented in response to the cooking oil shortage experienced across various regions of Indonesia for the past few months.
"I have decided that the government will ban the export of cooking oil and its raw materials starting Thursday, April 28, 2022, until further notice," President Jokowi stated in his press release on Friday, April 22, 2022.
"I will continue to monitor and evaluate the implementation of this policy to ensure abundant cooking oil availability domestically at affordable prices," Jokowi continued.
According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), palm oil is Indonesia's most exported food commodity, with export volumes reaching 25.94 million tons in 2020.
Indonesia was even recorded as the world's largest palm oil exporter in 2020, with a value reaching US$17.36 billion, or approximately 53.46% of the total value of global palm oil exports.
During the 2017-2021 period, the area of palm oil plantations in Indonesia continued to increase, reaching a total of 15.08 million hectares (ha) in 2021.
According to a report by Chain Reaction Research (CRR), a UK-based research institution focusing on deforestation issues, as of August 2021, the largest palm oil plantation area in Indonesia was controlled by PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN), reaching 580,000 ha.
Here is a list of the 10 companies with the largest palm oil plantations in Indonesia according to the CRR report:
1. PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN): 580,000 ha
2. Golden Agri Resources: 536,000 ha
3. Indofood Agri Resources: 343,000 ha
4. Astra Agro Lestari: 288,000 ha
5. First Resources: 213,000 ha
6. Sime Darby: 201,000 ha
7. KPN Plantation: 200,000 ha
8. Incasi Raya: 200,000 ha
9. Wilmar International: 198,000 ha
10. Bumitama Agri: 188,000 ha
The figures listed here represent the total area of palm oil plantations, including the plasma farmers' land managed by each company.
(Also read: Cooking Oil Prices Soar, Palm Oil Production Continues to Decline)