Amran Issues Firm Threats and Urges Police to Take Action
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), Amran Sulaiman, has stressed that the government will not tolerate food price manipulation ahead of Ramadan. The three commodities under close scrutiny are beef, cooking oil, and broiler chickens.
He said the recent price increases are not driven by production problems but by alleged speculative practices at the distribution level. ‘Because we are seeing inflation trends, there is a rise in broiler chickens, cooking oil, sugar, and beef. Chilies are now falling. We fear that as Ramadan approaches, these three will be the main drivers of inflation and affect the BPS,’ he said at the Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday (4/3/2026).
The government has ensured supply is safe. All recommendations for live cattle imports and frozen beef have been issued since the end of last year. ‘All recommendations to import 600,000 head of cattle since December have been issued and completed. Beef imports of 280,000 tons have also been released. So there is no longer any reason for the Ministry of Agriculture to hold back; it is finished,’ he said.
Field findings show price surges at large distributors. One case identified in Bandung showed a significant price increase per kilogram at the middleman level. ‘As soon as we checked what happened, one of the cases in Bandung showed price increases at large distributors, middlemen. The price rose by Rp 7,000 per kilogram. This is not acceptable,’ he asserted.
Amran said he had coordinated with law enforcement to decisively sanction those found to manipulate prices. He urged the Food Task Force and the Directorate of Special Criminal Investigation to descend to the regions. ‘We are asking the Task Force, the Dirkrimsus nationwide together with the district heads of criminal investigation across Indonesia, if necessary to seal cases. There can be no mercy. This makes Ramadan difficult for us,’ he said.
Not only beef, cooking oil is a concern. As the world’s largest producer, Indonesia has no excuse for domestic price rises. ‘Cooking oil, we are the world’s largest producer. There is no reason. Now production is abundant, but prices are rising sharply for cooking oil,’ he said.
He even warned that business licenses could be revoked if serious violations are found, including for calf importers. ‘If producers raise prices, especially calf importers, I’ll revoke their licenses and they will not be allowed to import anymore,’ concluded Amran.