'I Remind You Once Again, The Ministry Of Trade Will Definitely Drag Rogue Actors To The Legal Field', Enraged Trade Minister Lutfi Regarding Cooking Oil Hoarding

Minister of Trade Muhammad Lutfi during a hearing on the availability of cooking oil in a number of markets and cooking oil warehouses in Makassar, Thursday 17 February. (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Trade)

JAKARTA - The Minister of Trade (Mendag) Muhammad Lutfi has lost patience. He was angry after seeing firsthand that there were still business actors hoarding cooking oil (migor). He emphasized that the ranks of the Ministry of Trade would immediately take firm legal action against the perpetrators who were proven to have hoarded cooking oil.

"I remind you once again that the Ministry of Trade will definitely take the rogue perpetrators of hoarding cooking oil to justice," said Trade Minister Lutfi in a high-pitched tone during a sudden inspection (sidak) simultaneously to a number of areas in Indonesia that are experiencing a shortage of migraines, in Makassar, Thursday 17 February.

Trade Minister Lutfi accompanied by the Director General of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Trade Indrasari Wisnu Wardhana conducted an inspection and monitoring in Makassar, South Sulawesi (South Sulawesi). Also present were the Regional Secretary of the Province of South Sulawesi Abdul Hayat Gani and the Mayor of Makassar Moh Ramdhan 'Danny' Pomanto.

In Makassar, the group monitored two markets. First, the Eggplant Market, Wajo Baru, Bontoala. Second, Pabaeng-baeng Market, Tamalate. In these two markets, the Minister of Trade interacts a lot with traders. A number of questions were also raised by the former Indonesian ambassador to the United States to find out the real conditions on the ground.

As a result, affordable bulk bulk carriers are available in these two largest markets in Makassar. However, premium and simple packaging Migors are still hard to find.

"Hopefully the premium package, the Filma brand, will arrive this afternoon from the port. I ask the distributors to distribute it to all traders," said the Minister of Trade.

Lutfi ensured that there was no problem with the stock migration. However, the policies that he recently published need time to adjust prices.

Therefore, the goal is to go to Makassar to ensure smooth distribution and availability of goods. As for the findings in the field, the price of bulk migration is already at the level of Rp11,500 per liter. So the supply will return to normal.

He is proud that a number of traders have followed the highest retail price (HET) set by the government. In fact, what is not stable is the supply, so prices cannot be equated.

However, this condition can recover in the next week. Moreover, everything has been carefully calculated.

"So, if we count February, we need 280 million liters. Up to three days ago we had filled a third. So almost a quarter. As many as 60 million liters have been sold. So hopefully in the next 12 days before the end of the month prices will be normal," hope.

After monitoring prices in the market, the Minister of Trade then rushed to inspect an oil storage near the port. His steps were fast, his tone high, indicating a hint of irritation. There, there are two bulk oil distributors: PT Sawit Tunggal Arta Raya (STAR) and PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources and Technology Tbk (SMART).

Apparently, Lutfi received news that PT STAR was holding back bulk migrants, which hampered supplies to a number of traders.

"It's complied and someone has to follow the regulations. So use a little anger. But this must be done because the current situation is an emergency," said the former head of BKPM.

Seeing this, the Trade Minister asked PT STAR to immediately distribute bulk migrants to a number of markets in Makassar. He also reminded that the selling price was below Rp11,500 per liter. This is a government determination, according to HET to consumers.

Lutfi wants the existing supply not only to be limited to Makassar City, but to all regencies/cities in South Sulawesi. That's what PT SMART did. Even the Sinarmas-affiliated company sent it to Baubau.

"So I asked for help from those on the other side (PT STAR) and I ordered them to take out the tanker truck right now to sell it at the Eggplant Market," he said.

He is sure that the supply of migrant workers in South Sulawesi will be stable. This is because the migration of simple packaging and modern packaging has been sent, at least 300 tons to Makassar City. That way, bulk Migor can be sold for IDR 11,500 per liter, simple packaging for IDR 13,500 per liter, and premium packaging for IDR 14,000 per liter.

Lutfi reiterated that he and his staff did not hesitate to take firm action against the migrant hoarders.

"So it's the HET which is participated by all traders and distributors in Makassar City to supply Sulawesi," he concluded.

Regarding the availability of cooking oil, the Presidential Staff Office stated that there were vacancies in a number of mini markets in the country because many people bought too much.

Main Expert Edy Priyono appealed to the public not to buy cooking oil in excess.

"For consumers, we hope not to make excessive purchases. Buy only as necessary," said Edy.

Edy said the government also continues to cooperate with producers to ensure the availability of cooking oil in the market. According to him, the government has taken policies from upstream to downstream to overcome the problem of scarcity and high cooking oil prices.

He also said that, in accordance with President Joko Widodo's (Jokowi) direction, the government is committed to maintaining the stability of cooking oil prices at an affordable price level. One of them is what the Ministry of Commerce is doing.