How is palm oil related to cooking oil?

Palm-based cooking oil is produced along a processing chain: fresh fruit bunches (FFB) are processed into crude palm oil (CPO), and the CPO is then refined and fractionated into ready-to-use cooking oil. Most cooking oil sold in Indonesia is made from palm oil (olein), so domestic cooking oil prices are strongly influenced by CPO supply and prices.

Palm cooking oil is generally sold in two forms: bulk (unbranded) cooking oil without retail packaging, and branded packaged cooking oil. Domestic cooking oil prices are affected by international CPO prices, the exchange rate, production and distribution costs, and government policies on domestic supply. To keep cooking oil available and affordable, the government has used instruments such as the Domestic Market Obligation (DMO) and the Domestic Price Obligation (DPO).