<span style="color: #222222;">Indonesia will ban exports of palm oil starting next week, its president said Friday, as the world's biggest producer faces a shortage of cooking oil.<br />''<br />''The Southeast Asian archipelago has been running low on palm-based cooking oil since November as producers turn to exports to cash in on an increase in prices around the world.<br />''<br />''Authorities now fear the scarcity and soaring prices could provoke social tensions and have moved to secure supplies.<br />''<br />''The government will prohibit the export of raw materials for cooking oil and cooking oil itself, until a deadline to be determined later, President Joko Widodo said in a statement.<br />''<br />''Officials introduced limited curbs on palm oil exports in January, capped prices, and announced cash subsidies for some Indonesians to compensate for rising food prices.<br />''<br />''But the commodity continued to become harder to find at markets and grocery stores, with long queues appearing at many locations.<br />''<br />''Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil in Indonesia whereas crude palm oil is exported worldwide for a wide range of uses, from cosmetics to chocolate spread.<br />''<br />''Vegetable oils are among a number of staple food items that have reached all-time high prices in recent weeks following Russia's military operation of agricultural powerhouse Ukraine, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.</span><br />