JAKARTA - The Presidential Staff Office explained behind President Joko Widodo's decision to revoke subsidies for packaged cooking oil and decided to only provide subsidies for bulk cooking oil.
Main Expert Staff of the Presidential Staff Office, Edy Priyono, emphasized that the policy is a form of government concern for the people's cooking oil needs, and to maintain the sustainability of the domestic cooking oil industry.
“The government on the one hand really cares about the needs of the community, but on the other hand the government realizes that this industry must continue. So the President wants to maintain this balance, namely to protect the interests of the community and producers," said Edy in a written statement quoted by Antara, Saturday, March 19.
Edy admitted that it was not easy to implement the new policy related to cooking oil. This is because the government must also ensure the availability of bulk cooking oil supplies so that there is no shortage in the market.
Especially with the issuance of this policy, it will open up opportunities for packaged cooking oil users to switch to bulk.
In addition, he said, the potential for leakage in distribution will also be greater. This requires maximum supervision, so that the provision of subsidies for bulk cooking oil can be right on target.
"The challenge is indeed very big, but the government has prepared various scenarios so that the implementation of the policy runs well in the field," he said.
"The Presidential Staff Office together with the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Industry, and the Food Task Force will go into the field to oversee the President's policy regarding cooking oil," he continued.
As previously reported, President Joko Widodo lifted the packaged cooking oil subsidy and released it to economic prices, and decided to subsidize the price of bulk cooking oil, to IDR 14,000 per liter. The subsidy is provided from funds from the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS).
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said the government took the policy after taking into account the distribution situation and the current state of cooking oil distribution. In addition, commodity prices in global markets continue to rise.
"This includes vegetable oil and includes palm oil," explained Airlangga Hartarto, after a limited meeting on Tuesday (15/3).
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