JAKARTA: Indonesia will review the ratio of its palm oil export quota amid rising prices of domestic cooking oil, according to the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime and Investment Affairs.

Indonesia imposes a so-called “domestic market obligation” (DMO) on palm oil, whereby companies are allowed to export only after they have sold a portion of their production at home.

The government regulates the price for palm oil sold under the DMO scheme, and the products are supplied for use in a cheap cooking oil programme.

Indonesia currently allows companies to export six times the volume they have sold to the domestic market.

Indonesia, the world’s top palm oil producer, will suspend some existing palm oil export permits until the end of April.

Officials said on Monday that some exporters had accumulated large quotas for shipments from late last year.

However, authorities added that companies could get additional export quotas if they supplied the domestic market. — Reuters

Source : The Star