KPPU Calls Rice Entrepreneurs, Any Cartel Indications?

KPPU Member Commissioner Hilman Pujana. (Photo: Mery Handayani/VOI)

The Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) has gathered a number of rice producers to the government to discuss the current high price of rice.

The meeting was also to find the cause of the increase in rice prices and the lack of supply in the market.

The meeting was attended by the Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Agriculture, producer of premium rice, Association of Indonesian Rice and Rice Milling Entrepreneurs (Perpadi) and PT Food Station Tjipinang Jaya.

KPPU Member Commissioner Hilman Pujana said at the meeting the reason for the high price of rice at this time.

One of them is due to a decrease in rice production.

Hilman also revealed that there were also those who said that the decline in production was due to the impact of el nino and reduced land area.

Earlier there were several first appearances related to of course the weather of el nino. Second, with the information that there is a decrease in rice production, rice supply, several things, one of which is the lack of production land. This was conveyed earlier in FGD (Forum Group Discussion)," he said at the KPPU Office, Central Jakarta, Wednesday, February 28.

Hilman said that his party was currently tracing data regarding business competition.

In this case, it includes allegations of cartel practices as a cause of rising rice prices.

Even so, continued Hilman, the discussion forum that was held this time could not be the basis for determining whether there was a cartel or not.

"If we talk about indications that the cartel is not necessarily, we cannot conclude at this time. So we are in the process of collecting information data, this is our basis, we cannot conclude 'oh, this is an indication' at the beginning," he said.

As a step to explore the current state of affairs, Hilman said, KPPU has formed a special team consisting of an investigation team and a study team.

"Of course, why do we form a kind of special team, of course, we have also seen things that 'oh, this KPPU team needs to go down' to see these sectors," he said.

Hilman guarantees that if later indications of violations of the business competition tour are found, the KPPU will follow up legally.

"For example, we will find indications later whether there are producers, in distribution or where, if there are these blockages, we will see. If there was communication, there was an agreement between business actors, namely later we will certainly comply with the KPPU's duties, namely law enforcement," he said.