Zulhas Reveals the Root Cause of Minyakita Shortages in Several Regions
Stocks of Minyakita have been reported as scarce in several regions. Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan, or Zulhas, revealed the root cause of the shortage of this subsidised cooking oil.
Meeting at SMAN 1 Depok, Zulhas explained that Minyakita essentially comes from bulk oil. During his tenure as Trade Minister, this bulk oil was packaged into Minyakita.
“Yes, that’s how it is; Minyakita was originally the bulk oil available in the market. When I was Trade Minister, we packaged that bulk oil and called it Minyakita,” Zulhas told reporters on Thursday (16/4/2026).
He stated that Minyakita is fundamentally distributed in traditional markets. However, over time, this subsidised cooking oil has been sought after by the public and even sold in supermarkets.
“That oil is actually for traditional markets. But now everyone buys Minyakita, including in supermarkets,” he said.
“Modern retail should have plenty of premium brands. This is bulk oil from the market, but now everyone buys it, so of course there will be shortages if everyone buys Minyakita,” he added.
Nevertheless, Zulhas continued, the price difference between Minyakita and other premium oil brands is not significant.
“But there are premium ones, other brands, the difference isn’t much. If Minyakita is Rp 16,000, the others are usually Rp 17,000 or so,” he said.
He emphasised that overall cooking oil stocks are sufficient. For Minyakita specifically, the government will distribute it to traditional markets.
“Cooking oil is sufficient, people’s cooking oil is sufficient, but not necessarily Minyakita. Minyakita will be focused on traditional markets,” he concluded.
Citing detikFinance, stocks of people’s cooking oil or Minyakita in several markets in Jakarta have been reported as empty. Bulog President Director Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani acknowledged that Minyakita stocks in the field are thinning and have been reported to Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman.
Rizal said his company has applied for an additional Domestic Market Obligation (DMO) quota to the Ministry of Trade.
“Yesterday we also reported to the Agriculture Minister to address the empty Minyakita. To be honest, we have applied to the Trade Minister for an additional quota,” Rizal said during a press conference at Bulog’s Head Office in South Jakarta on Monday (13/4).
Currently, the state-owned food company is involved in distributing Minyakita. The government requires producers to channel at least 35% of Minyakita through state-owned food companies.
Rizal explained that the quota is divided among three SOEs: Bulog 70%, ID Food 20%, and Agrinas Palma 10%. However, Rizal admitted they must manage the distribution rhythm carefully due to the task of delivering food aid to more than 33 million Beneficiary Families (KPM).
“Well, we are also managing the rhythm. Last time we focused on Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, alhamdulillah it went smoothly. Then after that, we focus on food aid. So, perhaps after that we will focus back on the market. There is indeed a limitation in the DMO when faced with Minyakita needs for food aid. So, we are sharing,” Rizal explained.
Rizal requested that the DMO quota to state-owned food companies be increased to 65%. With that, he hopes it can meet market needs as well as social aid evenly.
“In line with directions from the Agriculture Minister, yesterday we were instructed to apply for an additional DMO quota of 65%. The hope is that 65% can cover the market and also food aid,” Rizal added.
Food Stocks Secure Until 2027
The extreme El Niño phenomenon or Godzilla El Niño predicted to hit Indonesia in 2026 has raised concerns about national food security. Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan, or Zulhas, claimed that food stocks remain safe even until 2027.
“Alhamdulillah, our rice is sufficient, chicken, eggs, fish are sufficient. So, food until the end of the year is safe, even in surplus,” Zulhas told reporters after a visit to SMAN 1 Depok, Sleman, on Thursday (16/4/2026).
Zulhas explained that the El Niño phenomenon is associated with drought conditions that could pressure food production. However, the government has anticipated this by maintaining large rice reserves.
“El Niño means drought, just drought. Our stocks are already 4.7 million tonnes, insyaallah our rice stocks are safe until the end of 2027,” he stressed.
In addition to El Niño, the geopolitical situation in the Middle East also affects food stability in Indonesia. Therefore, he is going directly to the field to ensure that all infrastructure and food production support are available.
“I’m checking now on irrigation, fertiliser, paddy. Because food is very important, especially amid this geopolitics,” he said.
Zulhas continued that he will also inspect the recruitment of Kopdes Merah Putih managers to checking the development of Kampung Nelayan Merah Putih.
“Because that is to accelerate our food self-sufficiency, rice must not be lacking, chicken must not be lacking, fish must not be lacking, eggs must not be lacking, they must be sufficient,” he concluded.