Cooking Oil Price Drop Largest in This Province

The Indonesian government banned the export of palm oil and cooking oil raw materials, namely Crude Palm Oil (CPO), starting April 28, 2022. This policy was implemented due to the scarcity of cooking oil in the market and its rising price, making it increasingly unaffordable for the public.

This government measure succeeded in suppressing cooking oil prices, although not in all provinces. President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), in a statement at the Merdeka Palace on Thursday, May 19, 2022, said that the export ban on palm oil products, including cooking oil and CPO, would be lifted starting Monday, May 23, 2022.

“Although exports are reopened, the government will continue to closely monitor and supervise to ensure that supplies remain sufficient at affordable prices. On this occasion, I also want to thank the palm oil farmers for their understanding and support of the government's policy taken for the broader public interest,” he said.

Based on data from the National Strategic Food Price Information Center (PIHPS), the price of bulk cooking oil in traditional markets in Southeast Sulawesi was sold at Rp17,150 per liter on May 19, 2022.

This price decreased by Rp7,850 per liter since the implementation of the CPO export ban (April 28, 2022). The decrease in the price of bulk cooking oil in Southeast Sulawesi was the deepest compared to the decrease in the price of bulk cooking oil in other provinces.

The next province with the deepest decrease in the price of bulk cooking oil was Gorontalo, namely Rp3,850 per liter, to Rp24,650 per liter. This was followed by Central Sulawesi with a decrease of Rp2,800 to Rp22,200 per liter, and West Kalimantan with a decrease of Rp2,350 to Rp15,750 per liter.

Although the CPO export ban managed to suppress cooking oil prices domestically, the current prices are still above the highest retail price (HET) of bulk cooking oil previously set at Rp11,500 per liter.

In some areas, such as Papua, bulk cooking oil is still sold at Rp29,500 per liter. Similarly, in North Maluku, it is sold at Rp27,000 per liter.

The following are the 10 provinces with the deepest decrease in the price of bulk cooking oil (Rp per liter) during the period April 28 - May 19, 2022:

* Southeast Sulawesi: Rp25,000 => Rp17,150
* Gorontalo: Rp28,500 => Rp24,650
* Central Sulawesi: Rp25,000 => Rp22,200
* West Kalimantan: Rp18,100 => Rp15,750
* North Sulawesi: Rp20,800 => Rp18,900
* Central Java: Rp18,650 => Rp17,000
* East Java: Rp18,550 => Rp17,000
* North Kalimantan: Rp24,750 => Rp23,250
* Central Kalimantan: Rp20,900 => Rp19,450
* West Java: Rp20,450 => Rp19,050