Cooking oil prices are at an all-time high

Prices for soybean and palm oil used as cooking oil are at an all-time high.

After the news that Indonesia was restricting exports, palm oil prices for May delivery rose 10 percent to 7,060 ringgit ($1,687) a tonne in Kuala Lumpur. This was the largest daily increase since 2001.

Prices have risen more than 50 percent this year. In Chicago, soybean prices rose to a record high. Dorab Mistry, a manager at Godrej International, said that prices at this level are not sustainable. Mistry stated that the rise in inflation will continue due to the war; the world economy will go into recession; this situation will hit global demand and many commodities, including palm oil, may fall in the second half of the year. The expert predicted that palm oil will fall to $5000 per ton in August and to $4,000 per ton in September.

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the sharp rise in prices, governments are taking various steps to secure the food supply. In recent years, governments have taken protective measures before as the pandemic has caused famine concerns. Recent developments are also causing additional pressure on food inflation.

Experts point out that the situation could worsen if Ukraine, one of the largest sunflower producers, misses the harvest season this year. Russia and Ukraine account for about 80 percent of global sunflower oil exports.