For The Sake Of Protecting Garlic Entrepreneurs, KPPU Asks The Government To Relax The Import Policy

Illustration. (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) assesses that the licensing process for imported garlic commodities in Indonesia is strictly not in accordance with the conditions of the country. This is because there are no domestic business actors that must be protected and threatened if imports are made.

Deputy Chairman of KPPU, Guntur Saragih, said that the easing of food commodity import permits is necessary considering the relatively small number of garlic farmers in Indonesia. Guntur said, the import permit or regulation needed to be accelerated.

"KPPU has its own concern on tight import regulations. This is not very suitable for the commodity of garlic, why? Because there were no domestic business actors that should be protected in it," he said in a webinar, Friday, January 22.

Moreover, said Guntur, garlic is a commodity that is a substitute for other commodities. That way, the stock availability of garlic in the Indonesian market must be fulfilled for the community.

Guntur assessed that the scarcity was due to limited stock or soaring market prices. However, he said, this did not necessarily lead people to switch to other types of onions.

"Is it by substituting for not consuming garlic because it is expensive, then people can switch to other products such as red onions? Not really," he explained.

Therefore, said Guntur, the Import Approval Letter (SPI) should have been issued to support the acceleration of imports. So that it can avoid the scarcity of garlic stocks in the domestic market.

"Because of course after the import permit is late and has not been issued, it will end up risking a decrease in supply (of garlic) in the market. In the end there will also be a risk of rising prices that must be borne by consumers," he said.

The acceleration of SPI garlic, said Guntur, can also avoid the burden of the price for the community. If not, the price increase will further suppress people's purchasing power amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the government is asked to be sensitive to the potential increase in the price below.