Export taxes were first introduced in 1979 because of the scarcity of palm oil as a raw material for cooking oil. Palm oil exports dropped significantly, in the first year alone falling from 84% of production in 1978 to 55% in 1979. In June 1991, the government abolished the tax in order to increase exports and attract more investments to the palm oil sector. However, concerned by a large increase in the price of cooking oil, the government imposed an export tax on palm oil products (CPO, RBD PO, CRD olein and RBD olein) in September 1994 (Figure 2.12).