Find MinyaKita Sold Above HET, Head of Bapanas Amran: Check the Manufacturer, If Necessary, Cancel the Permit

JAKARTA - The Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) who is also the Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Andi Amran Sulaiman found MinyaKita sold above the highest retail price (HET) set by the government when checking directly at Tebet Market, Jakarta.

The findings were obtained in a series of food price monitoring which was also carried out previously in East Java, as part of the government's efforts to ensure the stability and affordability of national staple foods.

"This afternoon we checked directly at Tebet Market. Last Sunday I checked the price in East Java. This one (at Tebet Market) cooking oil (MinyaKita) is a little higher than HET," said Amran as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, December 30.

Amran and his team found that MinyaKita was sold for Rp16,000 to Rp18,000 per liter in the market, and immediately asked the Food Task Force to trace the producers to ensure compliance with the HET.

Even though the HET for these commodities is Rp15,700 per liter.

He emphasized that the increase in the price of cooking oil had no strong reason because Indonesia was the world's largest producer of cooking oil with a very sufficient supply availability.

Therefore, he asked the Food Task Force to trace the distribution chain to the producer level to ensure that the parties responsible for the price violations could be identified appropriately.

In the crackdown, Amran emphasized that retailers were not the target of the action because their profit margins were very small and not the main determinant of price increases.

Supervision is tightened to prevent the practice of taking advantage of the Christmas and New Year momentum by raising prices above the HET that has been set by the government.

Amran said that firm sanctions up to revocation of permits could be applied if it was found that producers deliberately violated the rules for excessive profits and disrupted food stability.

This step is expected to strengthen business actors' compliance, maintain distribution fairness, and ensure that the public obtains cooking oil at prices in accordance with national regulations.

"Once again, we are the largest producer of cooking oil in the world. There is no reason to raise it. It must follow the existing HET. And we have called the Task Force (Food) to come down directly, check the producers directly where. If necessary, if he is deliberately looking for profit, it will be sealed and the license will be revoked," said Amran, stressing.

Junaidi, a trader at Tebet Market, admitted that he sold one liter of MinyaKita for Rp18,000 and two liters for Rp36,000 because the purchase price from suppliers had exceeded the national government's official highest retail provisions at that time.

He said the purchase capital was around Rp210,000 per carton containing 12 liters so that the traders' profit was only around Rp1,000 per liter in order to continue to help the urgent daily needs of the community.

With the purchase capital, Junaidin will lose if he sells MinyaKita Rp15,700 per liter, because from the purchase capital of Rp210,000 per carton containing 12 with a dosage of 1 liter each, the average capital per liter reaches Rp17,500.

According to Junaidi, the scarcity of MinyaKita occurred for almost a month so that the supply from the agent was often empty, making traders difficult to meet the demand even though the product was the most sought after by buyers in the local traditional market.

He explained that although the price had increased, MinyaKita was still cheaper than other brands of oil such as Tropikal which could reach Rp. 25,000 per liter so that consumers still chose MinyaKita for cooking.

Before experiencing scarcity, he used to receive up to dozens of cartons but now only two cartons per shipment so that sales volume decreased drastically and supply was unstable.

Junaidi supports action against manufacturers or distributors so that prices will fall again and supplies will run smoothly for the certainty of the people's market traders.

He hopes the government will increase the supply of MinyaKita, prevent hoarding between hands so that prices return to normal.