After Banning Coal, Minister Of Trade Lutfi Plans To Limit CPO Exports

Minister of Trade, M. Lutfi. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of Trade (Mendag) Muhammad Lutfi revealed the plan to limit exports of crude palm oil (CPO), palm olein and used cooking oil, after the government had previously banned coal exports.

In contrast to the ban on coal exports, Lutfi said that what was being done for the commodity was not an export ban. He said this policy was to ensure the availability of palm oil supplies. In particular, domestic cooking oil.

"To make sure it doesn't become a fraud, we will carry out, not prohibit, waste cooking oil, olein goods, and also the CPO," he said in a virtual press conference, Tuesday, January 18.

"So we have to ensure that the domestic market is sufficient for these goods, and as the largest palm oil producing country in the world," he continued.

For your information, the fraud in question is related to the distribution of subsidized simple packaged cooking oil to markets, which is currently being carried out as an effort by the government to intervene in cooking oil prices that have soared since the end of 2021.

On this occasion, Lutfi emphasized that the distribution of subsidized simple packaged cooking oil must be maintained. The aim is to ensure that the subsidized cooking oil is not exported.

"To solve this (cooking oil) problem, we must also ensure that there is no leakage from this subsidy, which is being carried out by the government to ensure that fraud does not occur," he said.

Previously, Lutfi had also mentioned the fraud. He said he was making sure that the subsidized cooking oil supplied by the government was not exported.

The government itself has prepared 1.2 billion liters of subsidized oil as an effort to intervene in oil prices in the market. The subsidy is provided through a CPO export levy fund managed by the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS) worth IDR 3.5 trillion.

"We don't want the simple packaging to suddenly be cut, collected, then exported again. We want this for the Indonesian people," he said when met in the Kota Tua area, Jakarta, Wednesday, January 12.