Jokowi Bans CPO Exports, Indonesian Navy Tightens Water Surveillance

JAKARTA - The Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Yudo Margono, ordered all elements of the operations of the Indonesian Navy to increase supervision and strict security. In fact, the Navy can arrest and process the law if it finds any export of crude palm oil or crude palm oil (CPO) and its derivatives.

The move is a follow-up to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi)'s decision to ban CPO as raw material for cooking oil and cooking oil from leaving Indonesia, starting April 28.

"Fully support the government's policies in efforts to recover the national economy and structural reforms with upright loyalty", he said in an official statement, quoted on Sunday, April 24.

On April 10, the Indonesian Navy captured two Malaysian-flagged foreign vessels, TB Ever Sunrise GT 882 and TK Ever Carrier GT 98, which were carrying a cargo of 1,799,959 metric tons (MT) of illegal Palm Acid Oil (PAO), in Bengkalis waters, Riau. The arrest was made by KRI Sigurot-864 when the two ships sailed from Dumai to Johor, Malaysia without valid documents.

For your information, PAO or better known as dirty oil (Miko) is a by-product of the palm oil refining process. Palm acid oil is a derivative product of palm oil which is usually used as fuel, animal feed, soap-making material, and for the production of distilled fatty acids.

With the government's policy regarding the ban on CPO exports, Yudo said that all ranks of the Indonesian Navy will intensify supervision.

"And securing all activities at sea against oil smuggling as well as other violations and crimes", he said.

Previously reported, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) announced that the government had taken a policy to ban the export of cooking oil and its raw materials. This prohibition will be effective on Thursday, April 28, until an undetermined time.

The former governor of DKI Jakarta hopes that the ban can meet the needs of the people in the country.

"I have decided that the government will prohibit the export of raw materials for cooking oil and cooking oil starting from Thursday, April 28 until a time limit will be determined later", said Jokowi in a video caption that was broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube, Friday, April 22.

He also confirmed that he would directly monitor the policy of banning the export of cooking oil and its raw materials. "I will continue to monitor and evaluate the implementation of this policy so that the availability of cooking oil in the country is abundant at affordable prices", he said.