Suspicious Of Misappropriated Oilita, Legislator: Government Goes Down To The Market, Don't Just Behind The Table!

Illustration - Oilita. (Photo: Doc Antara)

JAKARTA - The price of people's cooking oil or Oilita has shot up from the highest retail price (HET) set by the Government. The DPR asked the Government to immediately step down to stabilize the price of Oilita.

"Really we are sad, this government cannot control the price of Oilita from year to year. In fact, the trend continues to increase in price. Even though Indonesia is the largest producer of crude palm oil (CPO) in the world," said Member of Commission VI DPR RI Mufti Anam, Tuesday 19 November.

In recent weeks, the price of Oilita has shot up quite high in many regions. Based on reports from the Ministry of Trade, the price of Oilita has soared from the HET set by the Government, which is IDR 15,700 to IDR 17,058 per liter in 82 Indonesian districts/cities. Even in 32 regions, the price of Oilita has reached IDR 18 thousand per liter.

By looking at the data, Mufti asked the Government to act decisively against traders who still sell the price of Oilita far above the agreed price. This includes taking action against rogue oil producers.

"The Ministry of Trade must ensure that producers who do not produce Oilita are in accordance with what is agreed with the Government to take firm action," said Mufti.

"If necessary, revoke the permit if it is still stubborn," continued the legislator from the East Java II electoral district.

The government claims that the increase in the price of Oilita is due to market demand which increases ahead of Christmas and New Year's 2024/2025. In addition, the price of bulk oil is said to have increased to Rp. 17,119 per liter due to the increase in CPO prices.

Mufti also highlighted how the expensive and rare phenomenon of cooking oil continues to repeat itself. According to him, this is because the government lacks 'tangling' so that industry players dare to violate the provisions.

"The Ministry of Trade issued a policy, but then industry players did not heed it. This is the same then the Ministry of Trade is like a toothless tiger, right?" said Mufti.

Mufti also questioned the Government's slow steps to overcome the problem of the high price of Oil, resulting in a shortage of people's cooking oil.

"It's already expensive, in some areas people have difficulty getting our oil. This is a bad precedent at the beginning of the Prabowo government," he criticized.

Mufti is worried that it is expensive and rare for Oilita in the market because there are irregularities committed by naughty elements. For this reason, he asked the Government to find the source of the problem.

"Maybe the Oilita is misappropriated, mixed and then sold into another brand," said Mufti.

He added that the Government was reminded to carry out intensive supervision to ensure retailers sell Oilita according to HET. Mufti also asked the Government to cooperate with the industry in monitoring and controlling CPO prices which are the main raw materials for cooking oil.

The reason is, according to Mufti, the price of our Oil worth Rp. 17,000 does not make sense, even though this year's CPO price is lower than when the 2022 CPO price boom. Mufti said the world's CPO price is currently stable and is in the range of US$ 700 - US$ 800 per metric ton.

"I see this is a failure of the Government and believe that our Oil Price cannot go to HET Rp. 15,700. Why? Because the one who manages this program is the same even though it has formed the Coordinating Minister for Food, yes, the same person, the successor to the Minister of Trade is also the Coordinating Minister for Food," he explained.

Furthermore, Mufti assessed the need for the Government to cooperate with the industry in considering the provision of subsidies or incentives for producers in order to reduce production costs. In addition, he mentioned that it is also important to collaborate with regions in monitoring and determining prices in their respective regions.

The member of the Commission in the DPR in charge of trade affairs also encouraged the Government to go directly to the field in overcoming the Oilita problem. According to Mufti, meeting directly to listen to complaints from retail traders and consumers in the market can see the real conditions that are a problem.

"Don't just accept reports behind the table and then make regulations that don't match the field conditions," he said.

"Therefore, it is very important to go to the field, look at market conditions. Apart from being able to hear the complaints of the people directly, we can also see and hear the facts that exist because reports can be made ideally, but field conditions are much more real," continued Mufti.

Mufti reminded the government to become a bridge between producers and consumers.

"I remember President Prabowo's speech at the opening of the inauguration, at that time he stated that he wanted to be serious about trying food self-sufficiency, so one of them is in terms of cooking oil. So this problem must be a reminder," he said.