West Java Prepares Cooking Oil Ordering Application

Governor of West Java (West Java) M Ridwan Kamil (right) while visiting the operation of the cooking oil market on the campus of the Bogor Agricultural Institute, Bogor City, Thursday (24/3/2022) (ANTARA/HO-Humas West Java Government)

BANDUNG - The West Java Provincial Government will make an application for ordering cooking oil as an effort to make it easier for people to get cooking oil.

West Java Governor M Ridwan Kamil emphasized that ordering through this application is only in times of crisis because the state does not trade with its people permanently.

"This system is only in times of crisis, yes, because the state does not trade with its people permanently. So, the order in this application will stop when conditions are normal," said Ridwan Kamil during the operation of the cooking oil market on the campus of the Bogor Agricultural Institute, reported by Antara, Thursday, 24 March.

Ridwan Kamil said that the cooking oil ordering application is currently being prepared by the West Java Digital Service work unit. The plan is this application will be launched next week.

"This is in order to help the community even though it is not their authority in the matter of cooking oil, but we continue to look for ways to make things easier. So we will launch an application for ordering cooking oil, the application is made by Jabar Digital Service," he said.

There is also the technicality of ordering cooking oil in the application, it cannot be done by individuals but is coordinated by the RW (Rukun Warga) with priority areas where the price of cooking oil is still high.

In addition to dampening the surge in demand because RW knows better who the residents need cooking oil the most.

"It will be controlled by the RW, it should not be private because it is the RW who knows which residents are in need, so the upper middle class takes the premium ones, the lower middle ones, which we protect," said Kang Emil.

After being ordered by RW, bulk cooking oil will be distributed immediately. The price set is also the normal price.

Kang Emil said, for the first stage of ordering cooking oil via the application, his party provided as much as 1 million liters of cooking oil.

"It is adjusted to stock availability, but we will prepare 1 million liters in phase one," he said.

According to Kang Emil, this method is a form that the state is present other than to cut the links that make cooking oil prices expensive.

"This is the state's way of breaking the chain that makes cooking oil expensive," he said.

While in cooking oil operations on the IPB campus, PT Agro Jabar as the distributor provides 2,004 liters at a price of Rp. 14 thousand per liter.

Kang Emil ensured that in addition to providing cooking oil ordering applications, his party also continued to hold market operations in various regions.

"We also continue to hold market operations, this time because I happened to have activities in Bogor but in other places they are also taking place," he said.

On March 16, 2022, the Regulation of the Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia Number 11 of 2022 concerning the Determination of the Highest Retail Price of Bulk Cooking Oil has been issued, in which the price is set at Rp. 14,000 per liter or Rp. 15,500 per kilogram. Previously, the HET for bulk cooking oil was Rp11,500 per liter.

On the same day, Circular Letter Number 9 of 2022 was issued regarding the Relaxation of the Application of Palm Cooking Oil Prices in Simple Packaging and Premium Packaging, in which the prices for both types of cooking oil were handed over to the market mechanism, which meant revoking the previous HET, namely premium Rp. 14,000 and simple packaging of Rp. 13. .500 per liter.

Through Circular Letter Number 84/PDN/SD/03/2022 signed by the Director General of Domestic Trade of the Ministry of Trade, it is stated that the regional government should stop market operations with the thought that cooking oil distribution will be normal after the HET is revoked (in the previous release it was written Permendag No 12 of 2022). However, in reality, cooking oil is still scarce and the price is still expensive, which makes the West Java Provincial Government continue to adopt a market operation policy.

According to the Head of the West Java Province Industry and Trade Service, Iendra Sofyan, the operation of the cooking oil market is in accordance with Law Number 23 of 2014 concerning Regional Government. In this regulation, the provincial government can carry out market operations in the context of stabilizing basic food prices.

"But what we prioritize is for the poor and areas that are difficult to reach for distribution," said Iendra in Bandung City.