Indonesia’s plans to restrict palm oil exports
The recent Indonesian palm oil ban has added to the inflation crisis.
Indonesia is planning to suspend some export permits to reduce edible oil prices domestically.
- Indonesia is the largest producer, exporter and consumer of palm oil in the world.
- Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil. It is obtained from the fruit of the palm Elaeis Guineensis (African oil palm) or Elaeis Oleifera (native to South and Central America).
- It is rich in Vitamin A and E.Trans fatty acids are not found in it. It is commonly used in food products and industrial uses.
- It is used in detergent, lipstick, shampoo, chocolate, bread, ice cream and biodiesel.
- Indonesia and Malaysia jointly produce about 90% of global palm oil. Other major palm oil producers include Thailand, Colombia and Nigeria.
- India is the largest importer of palm oil. Palm oil supplies about 40% of India’s vegetable oil consumption.
- The major palm oil producing states of India are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala. They account for about 98% of the total production of palm oil.
- To reduce import dependence for edible oil, India has announced ‘National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm’ (NMEO-OP).
- It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. The plan aims to cover an additional area of 6.5 lakh hectares under oil palm cultivation in India by 2025-26.
Climate suited for the cultivation of oil palm:
- It is a wet tropical crop. The optimum temperature for this is 22 °C to 24 °C (minimum) and 20 °C to 33 °C (maximum).
- It requires 5 to 6 hours of bright sunlight per day and 80% humidity for optimum growth.
- For this 2500 to 4000 mm. An annual or evenly distributed rainfall of 50 mm per month is considered favorable.
Source – Economics Times
