Whether It's Good Or Bad News From The Minister Of Trade Lutfi To Overcome The Cooking Oil Problem: Using The Extreme Method, Opens The Option To Stop Palm Oil Exports

Minister of Trade, M. Lutfi. (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Trade)

JAKARTA - The government continues to look for ways to overcome the problem of cooking oil. Currently, the problem has escalated from the high price to the scarcity of the commodity. To overcome the unresolved cooking oil problem, the Minister of Trade Muhammad Lutfi opened the option to stop the export of crude palm oil (CPO).

Lutfi's statement was in response to Commission VI's proposal for the government to close the export door to tame domestic cooking oil prices.

The former Indonesian Ambassador to the United States said the option to stop exports was always open. This step is taken as a last resort if the cooking oil problem gets out of hand.

This means that the government is still looking at the development of the economic price of cooking oil. If it is not formed and supply does not flood the markets in Indonesia, stop exporting is an option.

"For me, the option (stop exports) was never removed. If the situation is urgent, we must supply domestically, the option to prohibit (exports) is always there for Indonesia's interests," he said in a Working Meeting with Commission VI DPR, quoted on Friday, March 18th.

Lutfi explained that the economic price would not be reached in the near future. To ensure the availability of CPO in the domestic market, said Lutfi, the government has also raised the upper limit of export levy funds (DP) to 1,500 US dollars per tonne.

That is, the maximum DP for CPO exports will reach US$ 375 per ton. Meanwhile, previously, the maximum levy was US$175 per tonne with an upper limit of US$1,000 per tonne.

The export DP calculation scheme is US$55 for CPO sales of US$750 per ton.

"Every time they increase by 50 dollars, they have to pay 20 dollars. If the price goes up, they pay more. So that's what we are doing," he said.

Lutfi said exporters would still be subject to export duties of 200 US dollars per tonne. This means that the total funds that must be spent to send CPO to the export market is 575 US dollars per tonne.

"They have to pay 200 dollars per tonne, so when multiplied by 34 million, this means that this value is equivalent to 7 billion dollars. So it is equal to Rp. 110 trillion. So this must be given from entrepreneurs so that it can be subsidized (bulk cooking oil) rather than the activities we do for welfare Indonesian people," he said

Commission VI proposes to stop exports

Previously, Member of Commission VI DPR Nusron Wahid said that the current situation was likened to war. Especially the war against people who play with the price and availability of cooking oil.

"This situation is a war, the name of which is war, it is necessary to issue an atomic bomb. There must be someone who died, such as when stopping coal exports," he said.

If the situation is still not under control, Nusron asked the government in this case the Minister of Trade Muhammad Lutfi to take extreme steps, namely to stop the export of palm oil.

According to Nusron, steps to stop palm oil exports are needed to meet domestic needs.

"I suspect that if the people scream, you need to take extreme decisions. Stop exports (CPO). What does it mean that we are proud to export and our foreign exchange is high if the people suffer," he said.

According to him, Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi needs to consider stopping exports as President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) did when world coal prices soared and Indonesia was in a coal crisis.

"Coal prices can be stable now because of the bombing by Mr. Jokowi. In a month or two the bombs banned exports, indeed there were minor victims who died, later on oil palm farmers also died but then we consolidated that's my suggestion ," he said.