Jakarta (ANTARA) \u2014 National Food Agency (Bapanas) head and\nAgriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman has called on the Food Task\nForce to take firm action against food distribution violators without\ntolerance, ensuring the public can access goods at government-determined\nprices.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo all my fellow business people, please do not play games during\nthe holy month of Ramadan 1447 Hijriah. If anyone raises prices, they\nwill be dealt with. The National Police will act immediately,\u201d said\nAmran in a statement in Jakarta on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Amran underscored the matter following the discovery of MinyaKita\nsubsidised cooking oil at Kebayoran Lama Market in Jakarta being sold\nabove the government-set maximum retail price (HET) of Rp15,700 per\nlitre. He found the subsidised oil being sold at Rp19,000 per litre.<\/p>\n
He purchased two litres of the oil from one of the traders at the\nmarket.<\/p>\n
Bapanas confirmed that the company previously involved in the food\ndistribution violation had already been legally processed and was no\nlonger operating.<\/p>\n
According to Amran, the oil in circulation was leftover stock from a\ncompany that had been distributing it for some time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt turns out this company, PT Tunas Agro, has already been dealt\nwith. So this appears to be old stock \u2014 the case file has been declared\ncomplete [P21] and suspects have been named,\u201d Amran revealed.<\/p>\n
He stressed that should similar practices be discovered again or new\ndistribution from the same pattern emerge, firm action would be taken\nwithout compromise.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo this is the residual stock. If more goods like this come in\nagain, we will act again, name suspects again. Enough \u2014 we will just\nimprison them,\u201d Amran said firmly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese people are causing hardship. So, once again, the company has\nalready been dealt with. This appears to be leftover stock from the\nprevious enforcement action,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, he said oversight was no longer limited to mere appeals.\nBapanas, together with the Clean Sweep Task Force (Satgas Saber) for\nPrice Violations, Food Safety and Quality, is now operating intensively\nacross all regions on a daily basis. Every violation report is promptly\ninvestigated and followed up in the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cOperations are continuous. Our teams are now deployed not just in my\ncapacity as Agriculture Minister but as Bapanas head \u2014 teams across all\nof Indonesia. The offices are empty now; the teams are out monitoring.\nIf there is a price increase, report it and it will be dealt with. No\nmore persuasion \u2014 just enforcement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the government is not opposed to business operators.\nHowever, profits must not be obtained in ways that harm the public,\nparticularly during national religious holiday (HBKN) periods.<\/p>\n
He also reiterated that regulations are clear, including provisions\non prices below the maximum retail price (HET) and the Reference Selling\nPrice (HAP), which all food sector business operators are obliged to\ncomply with.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce again, we ask \u2014 we have no intention of disrupting those doing\nbusiness, but the entire food commodities sector must comply with\nexisting regulations, namely selling below the maximum retail price, the\nHET,\u201d said Amran.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/national-food-agency-chief-demands-zero-tolerance-for-food-distribution-violators-1771720940", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }