Indonesia has announced a ban on palm oil exports to stop domestic vegetable oil prices from rising.

Palm oil is the most produced, consumed and traded edible oil in the world.

The price of vegetable oil has increased significantly as a result of the Ukrainian crisis. Both Ukraine and Russia are major exporters of sunflower oil.

The announcement followed a rally in Jakarta where hundreds of people protested against rising oil and food prices.

Indonesian Finance Minister told Reuters that Jakarta understands that the ban will hurt other countries, but stressed that the domestic price of cooking oil needs to be lowered as demand outstrips supply.

The government has taken one of the toughest steps possible after previous measures failed to stabilize prices, he said.