Different Results Of Cooking Oil Inspection By Jokowi Vs Lutfi, Andre Rosiade: Stock Is Available If The Trade Minister Goes To The Field

Member of Commission VI Andre Rosiade. (Photo: Special)

JAKARTA - The scarcity of cooking oil in the market is still happening today. This is corroborated by the results of an inspection by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) which shows that cooking oil cannot be found in the modern retail market. Meanwhile, the Minister of Trade Muhammad Lutfi said the stock of cooking oil in the market was abundant.

Commission VI member Andre Rosiade said that the different results of the inspection between President Jokowi and the Minister of Trade Muhammad Lutfi showed that the stock was on the market if the Minister of Trade made a field inspection.

"The goods are abundant when the Trade Minister comes down for a check (to the field). After the Trade Minister left the goods disappeared," he told VOI when met at the DPR Building, Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Tuesday, March 15.

Andre explained that he would directly ask about the problem of scarcity and the price of cooking oil which did not match the highest retail price (HET) set by the government.

Previously, the Ministry of Trade had set the highest retail price (HET) for cooking oil, namely the price of bulk cooking oil at IDR 11,500 per liter, the price for simple packaged cooking oil at IDR 13,500 per liter, and the price for premium packaged cooking oil at IDR 14,000 per liter.

"To deal with today's meeting, I have ordered my staff to go around looking for goods. The result is that in modern retail there are no goods. In stalls, there are markets. But the goods are IDR 20,000 per liter. So basically the government does not have a solution. That's why we will talk today with the Minister of Trade," he said.

As is known, President Jokowi had time to directly check the presence of cooking oil in traditional markets and minimarkets. This was done on Sunday, March 13 in Yogyakarta.

At that time, Jokowi had visited a mini-market in the Pasar Kembang area. There, the former Governor of DKI Jakarta went straight to the cooking oil place but he saw that none was available.

From the minimarket waiter, Jokowi finally knew that cooking oil stocks were still scarce in the community.

In addition to visiting supermarkets, the President also directly checked the availability of cooking oil at traders in Beringharjo Market and Sentul Market, Yogyakarta. In both markets, the President found prices that varied, ranging from IDR 14,000 per liter to IDR 20,000 per liter.

However, the high price of cooking oil also does not guarantee the availability of stock. "The goods are there, but they are expensive," said the president, commenting on the high price of cooking oil.

"There is but it's slow, sir, when it's finished it will take a long time," said the merchant.

After President Jokowi visited a number of locations to look for cooking oil, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said the President would immediately decide on the steps the government would take in the near future. Because, the problem of scarcity like this cannot be allowed to drag on.

"This cannot be allowed to continue for too long, so that it is planned that after returning from this IKN event, the President will hold an internal meeting to immediately decide on issues related to this cooking oil," Pramono said in a press statement in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.

Inspection to the modern retail Minister of Trade finds abundant stock

The Minister of Trade (Mendag) Muhammad Lutfi made a surprise inspection (sidak) to Alfamidi and Lotte, on Monday, March 14 yesterday. From the inspection, the Trade Minister found that cooking oil was still available at the two retailers.

From the photo documentation of the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) it can even be seen that the Minister of Trade Lutfi is 'in front of' rows of cooking oil. This happened when Trade Minister Lutfi visited Lotte Wholesale Kelapa Gading.

The cooking oil shown in the modern retail outlets is the Bimoli, Sania, and Tropical brands. Apart from that, SunCo cooking oil was also seen, although it seemed that the amount was not so much.

While visiting Alfamidi, who is also in the Kelapa Gading area, the Trade Minister also still found the availability of cooking oil. The cooking oil brand that the Trade Minister Lutfi saw at Alfamidi was the Rose Brand.

"Our observations at Alfamidi Kelapa Gading show that cooking oil is available to the public. The Ministry of Trade continues to ensure that the supply of cooking oil is always available to the public, one of which is through modern retailers," said the Trade Minister.

"At Alfamidi Boulevard Kelapa Gading, cooking oil is sold in two liter packages. The price of cooking oil is according to the highest retail price (HET) which is IDR 14,000 per liter for premium packaging," he added.