"The DMO level, which currently stands at 450 thousand tons per month until the end of April, will be returned to 300 thousand tons per month according to the Directorate General of Domestic Trade Decision No. 82/2022 that will be enforced by May 2023," the ministry's Trade Policy Agency Head, Kasan, stated here on Thursday.
The decision is in accordance with the resolution made during the evaluation meeting on cooking oil policies with Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan on April 18, 2023, he remarked.
The decision to reduce the DMO level is taken with the objective of maintaining the stability of cooking oil prices during Ramadan to the Eid al-Fitr periods, he remarked, adding that the highest retail price of cooking oil products during the same period is stable.
"To ensure the stability of DMO supply, we need to change the policy," Kasan noted.
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Meanwhile, the ministry's Director General of Domestic Trade, Isy Karim, stated that to maintain the stability of the highest retail price throughout Indonesia, his side is seeking to designate the regional incentives policy.
He said that the ministry is still evaluating all factors to determine the regional incentive value for each region to ensure the highest retail price will remain the same throughout Indonesia, particularly in the eastern Indonesia region.
The director general remarked that thorough evaluation is deemed necessary to prevent the industry from redirecting its production for export purposes if the regional incentive values are perceived as being too high.
"If the export is high, the industry's supply sustainability to adhere to the DMO regulation will be disrupted. Hence, we will invite several ministries and institutions to engage in in-depth discussions," Karim remarked.
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Translator: Maria Cicilia, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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