Cooking Oil Crisis

Indonesia, as the world’s biggest crude palm oil (CPO) producer, experienced an increase of the price of cooking oil due to the scarcity of the commodity, which has precipitated unrest across the country. To note, CPO production has decreased due to labour shortages, skyrocketing fertiliser price, and extreme weather. The price increase was worsened by the rise of geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, which led to shortages of other vegetable oils. While several policies have been implemented by the authorities, debates have occurred on their effectiveness.