Don't Worry, The Ministry Of Trade Ensures That The Stock Of Cooking Oil Is Safe During Ramadan

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) guarantees that cooking oil stocks on the market are safe before and during Ramadan. This statement responds to people's concerns who claim that it is difficult to get cooking oil.

The Director General of Domestic Trade at the Ministry of Trade, Oke Nurwan, said that the stock of cooking oil would be met for the needs of the community during Ramadan. As is known, the month of Ramadan falls in April.

Not only guaranteeing sufficient stock, Oke also ensures that the price of cooking oil on the market will be in accordance with the Highest Retail Price (HET).

The Ministry of Trade has set the HET for cooking oil starting February 1, 2022, namely the price of bulk cooking oil of Rp. 11,500 per liter, the price of simple packaged cooking oil of Rp. 13,500 per liter, and the price of premium packaged cooking oil of Rp. 14,000 per liter.

"I assure you that we will maintain the stock at 628,000 tons. This means that we will secure it for approximately 1.5 months," he said in a virtual discussion, Tuesday, March 8.

According to Oke, his party will supply a large amount of cooking oil. Thus, said Oke, it is hoped that it will be able to influence the retail price received by the public.

"What is immediately supplied is the national average of 600 thousand (liters), this affordable cooking oil has entered the indicator of the national average price, from the previous Rp. 18,000, now it is even below Rp. 16,000 per liter. " he explained.

Furthermore, Oke said that his party is currently continuing to improve the distribution of cooking oil. He emphasized that the policy of prioritizing the interests of the people, prices must be affordable and easily accessible, is a permanent policy.

"The indicators are starting to improve, I make sure that fasting and Eid (cooking oil are appropriate) have the highest retail prices and affordable prices, they will be more accessible to the public," he said.

As previously reported, DPR Commission VI member Andre Rosiade admitted that he was worried that cooking oil would be increasingly difficult to obtain during the month of Ramadan. This is because the demand for cooking oil will soon increase entering the month of Ramadan. Not only from within the country, but also from Muslim-populated countries.

Therefore, Andre continued, the problem of scarcity of cooking oil is a homework (PR) that must be solved by the government.

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

Moreover, said Andre, the problem of scarcity of cooking oil has been going on for six months and has not been resolved until now.

"We have been discussing cooking oil for six months. So the impression is that Commission VI and the Trade Minister are sterile in the eyes of the people. I don't want our constituents to think that this DPR is not working," he said.