Indonesia to scrap caps on cooking oil price, introduce subsidy to ensure supply

Global prices of crude palm oil, which Indonesia uses for cooking oil, have surged to historic highs this year amid rising demand and weak output from top producers Indonesia and Malaysia.

JAKARTA: Indonesia will remove retail price caps for packaged cooking oil and will subsidise bulk sales to try to ensure supply at retail markets after previous price controls resulted in a scarcity, senior officials said on Tuesday.

Global prices of crude palm oil, which Indonesia uses for cooking oil, have surged to historic highs this year amid rising demand and weak output from top producers Indonesia and Malaysia.