Indonesia, Malaysia to determine global pricing for palm oil

[JAKARTA] Malaysia and Indonesia agreed that global prices of palm oil should be determined by the two biggest producers and they should not compete, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said after meeting Indonesia's President Joko Widodo on Friday.

Palm oil prices were among several issues the two leaders discussed in their meeting in Jakarta, he said, without elaborating further on the palm oil discussion.

"Price of palm oil should be determined together by Malaysia and Indonesia and there should be no competition in terms of pricing because Malaysia and Indonesia are the two countries that control the total palm oil exports," Ismail Sabri said.

The two South-east Asian nations account for roughly 85 per cent of the world's palm oil production.

However, top producer Indonesia is struggling to control cooking oil prices at home as producers refer to global prices in their production costs. Authorities have previously said domestic and international prices should not be linked.

Indonesia had earlier this year restricted export volumes and capped crude palm oil and olein prices sold at home but later scrapped the policies. REUTERS