"At the meeting with the president, we discussed the issue of food cartel eradication," Chief of KPPU Muhammad Syarkawi Rauf told the press after a meeting with the president in the Presidential Palace compounds here.
He said KPPU is prepared to guard any effort to combat food cartel according to its authority.
One of the issues discussed at the meeting was meat cartel which sent its prices soaring ahead of Idul Adha (Day of Sacrifice) this year, he said.
"One month ago, we questioned 32 feedloters accused of involvement in food cartel which sent meat prices soaring," he said.
The 32 feedloters were believed to have been involved in a conspiracy to hold meat supplies from feedloters to slaughterhouses, he said.
"During an impromptu inspection at slaughterhouses, we found that one week before Idul Fitri they still slaughtered 30 cows per day. But one month later, the number of cows slaughtered continued to fall to only eight per day," he said.
The finding served as the basis for the KPPU to probe the alleged meat cartel, he said.
He said the KPPU is expected to issue a decision on meat cartel in two to three months.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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