Indonesians face soaring cooking oil prices as war in Ukraine disrupts global trade

Millions of consumers and small business owners in Indonesia have been rattled for months by surging cooking oil prices. Soaring prices have been triggered by a jump in demand for palm oil, particularly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The two European countries are the world’s biggest suppliers of wheat and sunflower oil. While Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil, the surging global demand for the product has led to a domestic shortage and prices rising to a record high. The Indonesian government had imposed a now-lifted ban on oil exports in April 2022. Since the ban was scrapped, prices have begun falling, but they remain high in the country’s rural and remote areas.