Here's Minyakita Buying Rules, Getting Rare In The Market

YOGYAKARTA - The Minister of Trade (Mendag) Zulkifli Hasan (Zulhas) imposed a number of rules for buying Minyakita. This was done because there were complaints from the public and traders about the scarcity and rising prices of subsidized cooking oil in parts of Indonesia.

It is known, Minyakita is a trademark of cooking oil from the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag). This product was released in July 2022 by the Minister of Trade Zulhas.

This product was made by the Ministry of Trade to overcome the scarcity of cooking oil and provide options for cooking oil products at more affordable prices. However, less than a year since its launch, the price of MinyaKita has exceeded IDR 20,000 per liter.

In fact, if you refer to Minister of Trade Regulation (Permendah) Number 49 of 2022, the highest retail price (HET) for MinyaKita is IDR 14,000 per liter.

Minyakita Buying Rules

Following are some of the rules for buying MinyaKita from the Ministry of Trade (kemendag):

1. Show ID Card

The Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan said that people who want to buy MinyaKita must show their Identity Cards.

"Now buy (MinyaKita) using your ID Card," said Zulkifli while reviewing the prices of staple goods at Kreneng Market, Denpasar on Saturday, February 4, 2023, as quoted from ANTARA.

2. Wholesale purchases are prohibited

The next rule, people are prohibited from buying MinyaKita in large quantities or wholesale. This is to maintain the stability of product availability in the market, so that there is no scarcity that can affect prices.

"We prohibit large or wholesale buyers and will prioritize these goods to enter the market," said Zulhas.

Wholesale purchases have the opportunity to increase sales of MinyaKita products online. This is considered less in line with the target of the government's cooking oil program.

"Meanwhile, online purchases will be reduced and priority will be given to goods entering the market," said Zulhas.

Causes of MinyaKita Scarcity in the Market

Acting (Plt) of the Indonesian Palm Oil Council (DMSI), Sahat Sinaga revealed why MinyaKita is experiencing a shortage in the market. He suspects that MinyaKita producers will no longer produce subsidized cooking oil because there is no profit.

"I suspect they are not producing this Minyakita because there is no money, nothing from exports either. Yes, because the export has already been deducted by US$142," he said.

Sahat said, Minyakita production did not receive subsidies from the government, so producers had to cover the losses with export earnings.

Meanwhile, according to the Minister of Trade, the shortage of MinyaKita was due to the high enthusiasm of the people for subsidized cooking oil.

"We have investigated. This MinyaKita is the cheapest, which is according to the lowest retail price of IDR 14,000. The scarcity occurs because women who usually buy branded packaged oil have all switched to Minyakita," he said.

Coupled with its online sales and availability in modern markets, MinyaKita sells out quickly.

"The results of last week's meeting and also earlier decided on two things. First, online sales are no longer allowed. Sales are prioritized at people's markets. Purchases must use ID cards as before so that no one buys them up to sell them again at a higher price," said the Trade Minister.

Ministry of Trade Increases MinyaKita Supply

To overcome the scarcity of MinyaKita on the market, the Ministry of Trade will increase the supply of subsidized cooking oil from the previous 300 thousand tons to 450 thousand tons per month.

“In the past, the quota was 300 thousand tons a month. Now it has increased to 450 thousand tons a month. Hopefully, Minyakita will be circulated again within the next week to fill people's markets," said Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan.

The Minister of Trade, Zulkifli Hasan, targets that within the next two weeks, the distribution of Minyakita will stabilize in the market.

This is in line with the Minister of Trade's several visits to regional markets. For example, during a visit to one of the traditional markets in the city of Surabaya, the prices for basic necessities remained stable except for packaged cooking oil.

According to him, the increase in the price of packaged cooking oil occurred simultaneously in various regions of Indonesia, following the shortage of MinyaKita.

This is information about the rules for buying MinyaKita, which are becoming scarce in the market. Update on the latest situation developments only on VOI.id.