Government Withdraws 'Minyakita' from Food Aid Programme After Supply Shortages

The government has confirmed that Minyakita, the people’s cooking oil brand, will no longer be included in food aid programmes. The decision was made after an evaluation revealed that the distribution of Minyakita had experienced supply disruptions and price increases in several regions. Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan revealed that one of the causes of the dwindling stock of Minyakita on the market was that the product had previously been distributed through the government’s food aid programme. According to Zulhas, this situation triggered complaints from various regions, especially areas far from distribution centres, regarding the difficulty of obtaining Minyakita at the stipulated price. “Yesterday Minyakita saw a slight increase in some remote areas, and many people told us about shortages,” Zulhas said during a limited coordination meeting on food commodity price developments in Jakarta. He explained that the use of Minyakita for food aid ultimately absorbed part of the supply that should have been circulating in public markets. “Indeed, yesterday there was a policy, Minyakita was used for food aid, so Minyakita was not available in the market,” he said. Learning from this experience, the government decided to change the distribution pattern so that Minyakita can refocus on meeting the needs of the community in traditional markets. The policy is also intended to maintain Minyakita’s primary function as a replacement for bulk cooking oil. “We have corrected that experience; Minyakita must not be used for aid anymore, it must go to traditional markets, because the essence of Minyakita is to replace bulk oil,” he clarified. Echoing this, Trade Minister Budi Santoso stressed that Minyakita would no longer be part of the government’s food aid packages in the future. According to him, the need for cooking oil for social assistance can be met through other products supplied directly by producers. “Food aid can be arranged directly with the producers. Whatever brand it is later, it depends,” Budi said. Budi revealed that so far, around 52 per cent of Minyakita’s allocation had actually been absorbed for food aid programmes. As a result, the supply available to the public in the market was reduced. “Minyakita is indeed not for food aid. That was the important point. Because currently 52 per cent is used for that, so Minyakita in the market is reduced,” he said. Therefore, the government decided that the entire supply of Minyakita will be prioritised to meet the needs of the domestic market, especially public and traditional markets. Meanwhile, the need for cooking oil for food aid will use other brands outside the Minyakita programme. “Later, food aid can be communicated directly. We facilitate it with the producers. So there are other oils besides Minyakita. It doesn’t have to be Minyakita for food aid,” he explained. Budi reiterated that Minyakita was specifically created to maintain the affordability of cooking oil prices in public markets, so it must no longer be diverted to the food aid scheme. “Minyakita remains out of the food aid programme. Because Minyakita is only for the people’s market. So it can no longer be used for food aid. If oil is needed for food assistance, we will communicate regarding oil products other than Minyakita, as there are many types of oil,” he concluded.