Indonesia plans to stop all crude palm oil exports eventually

Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer of crude palm oil, plans to stop exporting the raw commodity eventually, shipping refined products instead.

“At some point, we must stop exports of crude palm oil, it should be in the form of cosmetics, margarine, biodiesel and other processed products,” President Joko Widodo said in a video uploaded to the official channel. The country needs to be bold in stopping shipments of raw materials, despite the risk of lawsuits at the World Trade Organization.

Southeast Asia’s largest economy has been seeking to climb up the commodities value chain, banning exports of unrefined copper and later nickel ores while requiring miners to invest in local smelters. The European Union has sought to challenge the export restrictions at the WTO.

Indonesia should prepare “world-class lawyers” in anticipation of any legal action, Jokowi said.