Trade Minister: Cooking oil supply secure, price rise triggered by plastic packaging costs
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Trade Minister Budi Santoso has emphasised that the supply of cooking oil is secure and sufficient, even as market prices have risen due to the cost of plastic packaging.
He stated that, based on the Market and Basic Needs Monitoring System (SP2KP), the price of the popular cooking oil brand Minyakita is around Rp15,900 per litre, above the government’s maximum retail price (HET) of Rp15,700 per litre.
“In principle, the stock of goods is available, no problem. So the supply is available. Indeed, one of the impacts of the increase is due to the price of plastic,” said the Trade Minister when met after attending a coordination meeting at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for Food, Jakarta, on Tuesday.
A similar situation has occurred with the price of premium cooking oil, which has been reported to have experienced a significant increase in several regions, recorded at Rp21,796 per litre based on the SP2KP managed by the Ministry of Trade.
According to the Trade Minister, the main factor in the price increase of premium cooking oil does not stem from the availability of raw materials, but is influenced by the rising cost of plastic packaging currently used by producers.
He emphasised that the supply of cooking oil from producers remains available and is not disrupted, so the public does not need to worry about potential shortages in the market.
The Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) has communicated directly with cooking oil producers to ensure that production runs normally and is not disrupted by price dynamics of supporting materials such as plastic packaging.
In addition, the Trade Minister said that his side is also coordinating with plastic industry players to ensure that the supply of raw materials is maintained through import schemes pursued by the government.
The Trade Minister hopes that these efforts can quickly stabilise cooking oil prices in the market, in line with the normalisation of plastic packaging production costs, which is one of the important components in product distribution.
He added that the government is not only focusing on the cooking oil commodity but also paying attention to upstream factors such as the plastics industry, which directly affects the final price at the consumer level.
According to him, if plastic production returns to normal and its distribution runs smoothly, then downstream business players are expected to adjust prices to be more affordable for the wider public.
The Trade Minister also reminded distributors not to take excessive profits when production conditions have stabilised, so that price distortions that harm consumers in various regions do not occur.
The government emphasises that the increase in plastic packaging prices should not have a broad impact on other products, especially those that do not use plastic packaging, so that the stability of strategic food prices can still be maintained.
To date, the government has not discussed adjusting the HET for cooking oil, but cross-ministerial coordination continues to be carried out to find comprehensive solutions from upstream to downstream.