Ministry Of Trade Suspect Residents Hoarding Cooking Oil, Member Of Commission VI: The Oil Is Just Gone, What Do You Want To Hoard?

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JAKARTA - Member of Commission VI, Andre Rosiade, admitted that he was surprised by the statement from the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) which stated that the scarcity of cooking oil was caused by people stockpiling it. According to him, with the difficulty of getting cooking oil on the market, it is impossible for people to hoard it.

"The cooking oil just disappeared, magical, how do people have access to hoard?" he said, in a visual discussion, Tuesday, March 8.

Andre admits that he is worried that cooking oil will be increasingly difficult to obtain during the upcoming Ramadan. Because, the demand for cooking oil at this annual moment will definitely increase. Not only from domestic demand, but also from other Muslim-populated countries.

Therefore, Andre continued, the problem of scarcity of cooking oil is a homework that must be resolved by the government immediately.

"If tomorrow is the month of Ramadan, the item could really not be magical. I'm also confused about the language. This should be a homework for the government," said Andre.

On the same occasion, an economist from the Institute For Development of Economics and Fianance (Indef), Agus Herta Sumarto, said that cooking oil actually does not disappear and is invisible in the market. However, the cause of the scarcity of cooking oil in the market can only be revealed by the government.

"So, in terms of data, the theory has all led to the fact that I don't think this cooking oil is magical. I think it (the item) exists. But why can this be magical? Only the government can explain," said Agus.

Previously reported, the Inspector General of the Ministry of Trade Didid Noordiatmoko explained that currently cooking oil production is approaching the need so that the shortage of this product should be resolved no later than the end of March 2022.

However, Didid said, a new problem arose which was the impact of rising prices and scarcity of goods, namely panic buying. This happens because the price of cooking oil is affordable so that people buy more than they need.

In fact, said Didid, research results state that the need for cooking oil per person is only 0.8 to one liter per month. So with these results, many households are stocking cooking oil.