Luhut Says It's Not Easy To Control The Price Of Cooking Oil, From Upstream To Downstream Must Get Profit

Screenshot of the zoom activity of the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marves) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Menko Marves) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said controlling cooking oil prices is not an easy job to do. Because, there are many things that must be considered so that everything goes well and on target.

To ensure everything goes well, said Luhut, the government will improve the governance of this cooking oil and palm oil.

According to Luhut, rearrangement from upstream to downstream needs to be done. This is to avoid difficulties such as happening again. In this way, state revenues will also increase.

"In the upstream, the government must be able to and continue to prosper the oil palm farmers, in the downstream the government must ensure that the community can find and buy cooking oil at a reasonable price," he said, in a virtual press conference, Sunday, June 5.

Then, said Luhut, the government must also convince cooking oil entrepreneurs, distributors and retailers to get the appropriate profit.

"They can move and get an appropriate profit for the production services they do and we make sure this happens. So we don't want the entrepreneur or the MSME to not make a proper profit," he said.

On the other hand, Luhut explained that the current problems cannot be separated from the problems facing the world. Not only the issue of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also the Russia-Ukraine conflict that has disrupted global supply chains.

"It triggers the increase in the prices of various commodities, especially food and energy. We see many countries facing high inflation rates or difficulties in dealing with rising world food prices," he said.

However, Luhut said, Indonesia is lucky that until now it can still overcome the problems it faces, it's just that anticipation needs to be prepared to deal with unwanted possibilities.