Bapanas asks the Food Task Force to investigate the oil in the HET in Depok

JAKARTA - The National Food Agency (Bapanas) asked the Metro Jaya Police Food Task Force to conduct a follow-up examination of the MinyaKita brand people's cooking oil commodities which are still sold above the highest retail price (HET) in the Depok area, West Java.

The Chief Secretary of Bapanas, Sarwo Edhy, said that his party had carried out a sudden inspection (sidak) at the Depok Agung Market, in order to maintain the stabilization of food supply and prices during the Ramadan period to Eid al-Fitr 1447 Hijriah/2026 AD.

He said that during the raid, his party found cooking oil commodities, still sold for Rp. 17,500 to Rp. 18,000 per liter by a number of traders. In fact, according to HET, MinyaKita should be sold for Rp. 15,700 per liter.

"This is what we need to fix immediately because MinyaKita is the government's oil. The price should be in line with the government's price. There is no story that the price is above the highest retail price," said Sarwo, quoted by Antara, Monday, February 23.

He ensured that the Food Task Force would trace the distribution chain to find out the source of the subsidized cooking oil sold above HET.

"Later, friends from the Metro Jaya Police Food Task Force will trace where the cooking oil came from. We have to trace it from the beginning, from the distributor, from the factory," he said.

Sarwo emphasized that if MinyaKita is sourced from Bulog, then the retail price must be Rp. 15,700 per liter.

With the distribution price from Bulog of Rp. 14,500 and directly delivered to retailers, traders still get a reasonable profit margin without additional transportation costs.

Sarwo also hopes that the Depok City Trade Service will map out the people's markets so that all markets can sell MinyaKita at the HET of Rp. 15,700 per liter.

Unlike other strategic foods such as rice, Sarwo explained, the results of monitoring showed that the price of the commodity was still under control. Medium rice is at a price of Rp. 13,500 per kilogram and premium rice at Rp. 14,900 per kilogram.

"It is still in accordance with the HET set by the government," he added.

In addition, the price of granulated sugar is recorded to be relatively safe in the range of Rp. 17,500-Rp. 18,000 per kilogram. Chicken meat is also considered under control.

"Earlier (chicken meat) it cost Rp. 48,000, but that was 1.3 kilograms. So please later when asking the price of chicken, you have to ask how many kilos. Sometimes the price is how much, Rp. 70 thousand, it turns out per head and weighs 2.1 kilograms," he explained.

He gave an example of a complaint about the price of chicken at Rp60,000-Rp70,000 per kilogram which, after being traced, turned out to be the price per head with a weight of more than two kilograms, so if converted per kilogram it is still below the HAP Rp40,000 per kg.

For the price of beef in the market, it is still in accordance with the HAP Rp140,000 per kilogram with good quality. Meanwhile, the price of red chili is still high in the range of Rp100,000-Rp120,000 per kilogram due to weather factors and the rainy season which affects the harvest time.

The government hopes that the price of sweet peas can fall close to the range of Rp. 58,000-Rp. 60,000 per kilogram in line with the planned harvest in a number of production centers such as Garut Regency.

Furthermore, he said that Bapanas has currently facilitated the shipping costs of red chili peppers through the Food Distribution Facility (FDP) mechanism, which will later encourage a decrease in prices in the parent market and will have an impact on prices in the derivative market.

"According to the instructions of the Head of the National Food Agency and Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman, all food prices must be below HET and HAP," said Sarwo.

"The government will not tolerate practices that cause prices to exceed the provisions and harm the community, especially during the Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr," added Sarwo.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Depok City Trade Service, Widyatin, stated that his party would continue to monitor the people's markets that serve as a reference for the government and maintain coordination with Bulog regarding the prices of important staple foods.