Indonesia currently requires producers to sell 300,000 tonnes of cooking oil per month for domestic consumption at a capped price, but traditional market merchants complained that they are having difficulties in securing supply and the price has surpassed the price cap.
"To meet the increasing demand of cooking oil ahead of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, government and cooking oil producers will expand the domestic market obligation programme to 450,000 tonnes per month from February to April 2023, a 50% increase from the current allocation of 300,000 tonnes per month," Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said in a statement.
The Indonesian traditional market merchants association, IKAPPI, said the price of unbranded cooking oil had risen to 16,000 rupiah ($1.07) per litre, above the ceiling price of 14,000 per litre and supply is scarce.
Indonesia has reduced palm oil exports in January by allowing shipments of six times more than producers' domestic sales, compared with eight times previously.
Budi Santoso, a trade ministry official, said the new domestic sales volume would not affect the export-to-domestic sales ratio.
($1 = 14,965.0000 rupiah)
(Reporting by Bernadette Christina; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
