Announcement For Ambonese! HET Cooking Oil Removed, Some Culinary Traders Start Raising Prices

JAKARTA - Residents of Ambon, Maluku Province, culinary lovers, can bite their fingers. This is because a number of culinary traders have started to increase the price of food to consumers as a result of the increase in the price of packaged cooking oil.

"We, culinary food traders who occupy the outskirts of Sudirman road, Batu Merah Village, Pandan Kasturi Village, Ambon City, which is next to the Maluku City Mall (MCM) shopping center, have agreed to increase the average price of Rp. portions served to buyers," said culinary trader Zulkifli, quoted by Antara, Sunday, March 20.

He said the rising food prices as a result of rising cooking oil prices in the market had affected production costs, so that culinary sellers were forced to adjust their selling prices to consumers. After the government revoked the Highest Retail Price (HET) for packaged cooking oil, it now follows the market price.

The average increase in food prices reached 16 percent from the previous year. One portion of fried chicken with white rice and vegetables, which was usually set at IDR 25,000 per portion, has now increased to IDR 28,000 per portion. Then for the white rice menu with tofu and tempeh, which was previously Rp. 15,000, now it has increased to Rp. 20,000 per serving.

Meanwhile, the rice menu with catfish and squid is now IDR 30,000 to IDR 35,000 per portion depending on the size.

Zulkifli, who has been living in the Kapahaha area, Ambon, explained that the increase in selling prices was not only triggered by cooking oil, but also tempeh and year prices. According to him, in the last two weeks, prices have started to rise, influenced by soybean prices.

The price of tofu and tempeh in the center of the Mardika area, Ambon City, has increased the selling price from the previous Rp. 5,000 per three pieces to Rp. 10,000 per five pieces, meaning that per piece of tofu-tempe has now reached Rp. 2,000 per piece from the previous Rp. 1. 600.

"Clearly it affects the price of culinary merchandise, because the price increases not only for cooking oil but also soybeans. Therefore, every visitor who comes to eat at the location asks for a complete meal consisting of a plate of white rice, a piece of fried chicken, tempeh and tofu, side dishes and one bottle of mineral drinks is Rp. 5,000, then visitors must pay Rp. 48,000," he said.

The Acting Head of the Industry and Trade Office (Disperindag) of Maluku Province, Yahya Kotta, said that the public need not worry because there are enough cooking oil stocks in a number of distributors in Ambon City, and can fill requests for the next two months.

"If the cooking oil is according to the data available at the Indo wholesale distributor Aprindo, after checking, they have a stock of 370,000 liters of the Freswil type, and now they have also distributed it to a number of Indomaret, then there are also local distributors who have a stock of 200,000 liters," he said. .