May 2

5/2 - Last week, Indonesia began enforcing a ban on palm oil exports in an effort to bring down domestic prices ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of fasting during Ramadan. As the world’s top producer and exporter of palm oil, Indonesia accounts for a huge 35% share of all global veg-oil trade. This comes on top of the loss of Ukraine’s sunflower oil exports, which represent 12% of global veg-oil trade. Combined, 47% of the world’s veg-oil exports are off the market. The ban could be lifted post-holiday (mid-May) if Indonesian domestic palm oil prices decline to the government’s target of 14,000 rupiah or $.97 per liter. U.S. soybean oil futures reacted by hitting record highs of $.9060/lb on Thursday and closed at $.8917 on Friday (4/29). Soy-oil averaged $.5815 in 2021, following a 6-year stretch (2015-2020) of averaging just $.3117/lb.