Food Task Force Names 75 Suspects And Revokes 2,229 Certificate Permits During 2025

The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) noted that the Food Task Force took action against 75 suspects and revoked 2,229 retail permits and distributors throughout 2024-2025 as part of tightening supervision of cooking oil, rice, and fertilizer.

Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Andi Amran Sulaiman said the action was carried out to maintain food stability and protect farmers and consumers from the practice of price manipulation and circulation of illegal products that harm the community.

For one year there are 75 suspects. Mafia should not be allowed to roam around. If we allow it, it is the same as raising crime," Amran said at the 2025 Plenary IV Session of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) in Jakarta, Friday, which was confiscated by Antara.

Based on data from the Ministry of Agriculture, the cases handled by the Task Force include 16 cases of cooking oil, 46 cases of rice, 27 cases of fertilizer, and two cases involving employees. All of them have been processed according to the provisions.

In addition, 2,229 retail permits and distributors were revoked due to administrative violations and business practices that did not comply with the rules.

Enforcement is carried out to ensure food distribution remains smooth and not monopolized.

Amran emphasized that the Ministry of Agriculture will continue to strengthen supervision to prevent supply disruptions that can trigger food price fluctuations.

"If we find any criticism, clean it up. As long as I am here, we will definitely act on the food mafia," he said.

He then gave an example of a case of counterfeit fertilizer that had a broad impact on farmers.

"Imagine the fake fertilizer cheating 100 million people. This cannot be tolerated. We got 27 suspects from the fertilizer case," he continued.

According to him, firmness in law enforcement is important to maintain national food stability, especially in strategic commodities such as rice and cooking oil which are very sensitive to price fluctuations.

The Food Task Force is also working with other ministries and institutions, including the police and local governments, to increase distribution supervision and ensure food stocks and prices are at a reasonable level.

The Ministry of Agriculture assesses that prosecution throughout 2024-2025 supports a wider food transformation agenda, including increased production, expansion of planting, and strengthening downstream commodities to reduce potential speculation at the distributor level.

Amran emphasized his commitment to maintaining the national food supply chain so that people get stable prices and farmers get business certainty.

"This is our job together. Food security must be maintained from upstream to downstream," he said.