"I have learned that some merchants are offering the cooking oil for Rp15,700 (US$0.97) per liter. This signifies a normalization," he remarked in West Bandung District, West Java, on Monday.
Santoso attributed the hike in the price of subsidized cooking oil to supply delays and longer chains of distribution.
On that note, he highlighted that the Ministry of Trade is using the Staple Commodity Market Monitoring System (SP2KP) to oversee the distribution of cooking oil to regions in a comprehensive manner.
"The use of the SP2KP enables the government to monitor the distribution from the center to regions. That way, we can immediately identify a price increase and its cause," he explained.
The minister further emphasized that the government would continue to maintain cross-institution coordination to ensure an affordable, stable price for MinyaKita in regions.
Earlier, the Trade Ministry's Director General of Consumer Protection and Trade Order, Rusmin Amin, drew attention to the longer distribution chains as the main cause of the price hike at the consumer level.
He explained that such a trend was likely the result of increased transactions of MinyaKita among retailers and wholesalers.
"Based on our observation, the distribution process has been involving too many parties, ultimately leading to prices above the highest retail price (HET) of Rp15,700 per liter at the consumer level," he elaborated.
Amin then pointed out that the main distributors, on the other hand, have continued to offer the subsidized cooking oil at reasonable prices, aligning with the HET.
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Translator: Rubby J, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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