From IDR 11 Thousand, Cooking Oil Price In Pekan Baru Reaches IDR 20 Thousand/Liter

Illustration/Photo: Antara

PEKANBARU - The price of cooking oil sold at basic food stalls in Pekan Baru City, Riau, has reached IDR 20,000 per liter due to the high demand from residents in the local area since there is a shortage of basic cooking ingredients in some areas.

A number of residents in Pekanbaru City complained about the increase in bulk cooking oil by IDR 20,000/liter because the sale was only found in one basic food stall, while the Indomaret modern market and other stalls did not provide packaged cooking oil.

"Packaged cooking oil is getting scarcer. Everywhere I have looked, I can't find it. Even then, there is only one trader who sells bulk cooking oil at an expensive price," said Det, a resident of Simpang Tiga Village, Bukit Raya District, Pekanbaru City in Pekanbaru, Friday 18 March.

The scarcity of cooking oil in the area was also acknowledged by other residents, Yeni (45) and Bude Yetno, who said that cooking oil was difficult to obtain in food stalls for too long, so this condition needed the attention of the government and related agencies.

"The COVID-19 pandemic is not over, people's incomes have weakened. It's also making it harder for us to find cooking oil, so if you don't use oil, it's not good," said the resident.

Susi, a resident of Marpoyan Subdistrict, said that she was surprised when she bought cooking oil in the retail market which suddenly filled up in the cooking oil display case.

Even the cooking oil on display has a selling price of IDR 24,500 per liter on it.

"We suspect that there is an intentional hoarding by distributors and traders of cooking oil," said Susi.

Residents hope that the Riau Provincial Government needs to act decisively to investigate the cause of the scarcity of cooking oil in the region.

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In fact, the condition in Riau Province is the largest area in Indonesia as a producer of oil palm plantations.

Previously, the government had issued a Highest Retail Price (HET) mechanism for bulk cooking oil of IDR 11,500/liter, simple packaged cooking oil of IDR 13,500/liter, and premium packaged cooking oil of IDR 14,000/liter.

The HET, which was implemented starting February 1, 2022, had indeed brought down the price of cooking oil on the market. However, its existence has become rare in the market since the HET regulation was repealed, resulting in a significant increase after the government handed over the price of packaged cooking oil to the market mechanism.

In Pekanbaru City, the price of 1 liter of packaged cooking oil soared to IDR 25,000. Then, for the price of 2 liters of premium packaged cooking oil, it is sold for IDR 50 thousand.

Meanwhile, the Regional Secretary (Sekda) of Riau Province, SF Hariyanto, said the government had revoked the HET for cooking oil through a Circular (SE) of the Ministry of Trade.

However, according to the Regional Secretary, his party as a regional food task force will conduct a review of distributors, modern retailers, and other markets in the area of ​​the Riau Provincial Government.

"Later on, we together with the regional food task force team will check every day at traditional markets, distributors, and other modern markets. We will report the results to the central task force because the policy is at the center,” he said.

“The HET for premium packaged cooking oil will be further regulated. The Food Task Force will go to the field. If you look at the cooking oil stock data for national needs, the stock is sufficient, the data already exists," said SF Hariyanto.

"We have to ask for the price as low as possible. But how come this can go up. We will call distributors to discuss this price increase, "he added.