Rare in the Market, Minyakita is No Longer Used for Social Assistance

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Food and Agriculture Zulkifli Hasan (Zulhas) revealed that the government received many reports related to the scarcity of Minyakita, especially in areas far from distribution centers.

Zulhas explained that this condition occurred because the commodity had been used for social assistance (bansos) for food to the community.

"Yesterday, there was a slight increase in some remote areas, in fact, many people told us, so there was a shortage. Yesterday, there was a policy, yes, Minyakita was used for food assistance, so Minyakita was not on the market," he said in a press conference at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture's office, Jakarta, Tuesday, June 9.

Zulhas admitted that the policy had an impact on the availability of Minyakita in the market. Especially in traditional markets.

Therefore, he continued, the government decided to improve the distribution policy so that similar incidents would not recur.

Now, Minyakita is no longer used in the food social assistance program.

"We have improved that experience. There should be no more Minyakita later for assistance, but it must enter traditional markets," he said.

Zulhas emphasized that Minyakita was introduced so that the public could access cooking oil at affordable prices through traditional markets.

In addition, Minyakita is also intended as an alternative to replacing bulk cooking oil.

"Because Minyakita is the essence of a substitute for crude oil," he said.