Cooking Oil Rp. 14,000, disappeared from the market
The HET for simple packaged cooking oil is IDR 13,500 per liter and premium packaged cooking oil IDR 14,000 per liter. The price of Rp 11,500 per liter is for bulk cooking oil. As a result, this new government policy has little effect on the price of cooking oil in Batam. This is because in Batam almost no one sells bulk cooking oil. Sellers installs near houses, kiosks in traditional markets, as well as mini markets and supermarkets, generally only sell packaged cooking oil. For 11 years living in Batam, I have never seen a seller of bulk cooking oil. When the government set a cooking oil price policy of Rp. 14,000 per liter starting January 19, 2022, several well-known cooking oils disappeared from the market. The shelves that are usually filled with brands of cooking oil are either empty or filled with other brands of cooking oil. The first cooking oil that disappeared from the market was Sunco. This brand of cooking oil is not found in supermarkets, minimarkets, or traditional markets. Every time you ask the seller, usually they will answer that the stock of cooking oil with that brand is empty.
However, based on the results of conversations with one of the sellers at Cahaya Garden Market, Batam, this brand of cooking oil was deliberately not sold and returned to the agent because the price was still relatively high.
Based on observations, Sunco's price is indeed high compared to other palm cooking oil. In the past, when the price of cooking oil skyrocketed and the government had not intervened in determining the price, the price of Sunco was Rp. 19,900 per liter, while the price of other cooking oil was Rp. 19,000, or even below. Other well-known cooking oil brands that are slowly disappearing are Bimoli and Filma. However, at Pasar Cahaya Garden Batam, some sell Bimoli cooking oil. However, the price is far above the HET set by the government.
Friday, February 11, 2022, tried to buy Bimoli cooking oil in two-liter packages for Rp. 37,000. That means the price per liter is Rp. 18,500. Rp 4,500 per liter is higher than the HET determined by the government.
That's already cheap. In the same market with different stalls and sellers, some sell Bimoli cooking oil for Rp. 20,000 per liter. So, for two liters, it becomes Rp. 40,000. Even though some well-known brands of cooking oil have disappeared, or even if they are priced well above HET, in general, the supply of cooking oil in Batam is quite good. Cooking oil is easy to get, there is no difficulty in buying the liquid that is needed to make these crunchy foods. It's just that in some stalls near homes and traditional market stalls, many only sell cooking oil with the Hayat and Panina brands. The reason is that the selling price is following the HET set by the government, which is Rp. 14,000 per liter. As is well known, On January 28, 2022, the Minister of Trade Muhammad Lutfi announced the HET for cooking oil was Rp. 11,500 per liter for bulk, simple packaging of Rp. 13. 500 per liter, and premium packaging at Rp. 14,000 per liter. This provision is set to take effect on February 1, 2022. However, a month since the government set the highest retail price (HET) for cooking oil, supply constraints still occur.
Previously, the government imposed one price cooking oil since mid-January 2022, which is Rp. 14,000 per liter. By mobilizing BPDPKS funds as a subsidy to replace the expensive price difference due to the spike in the price of raw material for cooking oil, CPO (crude palm oil).
Since the announcement of HET, there has been a polemic due to the scarcity of cooking oil in modern retail and traditional markets. What triggers panic buying is forcing retailers to limit purchases to only 2 pouches of 1-liter size or 1 pouch of 2 liters per person. The shelves of modern retail outlets are suddenly empty of stock of cooking oil, but several inspection findings report allegations of hoarding. Based on observations from CNBC Indonesia, Sunday-Monday (27-28 February 2022), cooking oil shortages still occur at modern retail outlets in the South Bekasi area. There are only a few pouches of 2-liter cooking oil available, that's only 1 brand. The rest is cooking oil made from corn and coconut.
"There is only this. It's limited, yes, 1 person 1," said a retail employee while watching every buyer. Executive Director of the Indonesian Vegetable Oil Industry Association (GIMNI) Sahat Sinaga said, during February 21-26 2022, as much as 24 million liters of cooking oil were poured into DKI Jakarta and West Java.
Therefore, he said, if there is still a shortage or limited stock in the area, Patty is suspected of cheating or hiding cooking oil.
However, he added, the flow of cooking oil supply in the domestic market will still be constrained.
This is because, he said, the policy to fulfill domestic needs (domestic market obligation/DMO) can only be implemented by integrated companies.