TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Ministry of Trade has admitted that the decision to apply a one-price policy for cooking oil is not optimal. The policy resulted in a shortage of oil supplies in the market.

"Reality shows it's not optimal. [Because] there are indications of export leaks," said Director General of Domestic Trade Oke Nurwan during an online discussion with Indef on Wednesday, February 3, 2022.

The ministry discovered that the lack of supplies was caused by producers prioritizing the exports market following the one-price policy implementation on January 19, 2022. The government then immediately decided to re-evaluate the policy.

Initially, the policy was planned to be valid for the next six months. Later on January 27, 2022, the government applies another policy that obliges producers to fulfill domestic market obligations (DMO) and domestic price obligation (DPO).

With DMO and DPO policy in effect, exporters must first supply 20% of their total export volumes to the domestic market. "Supply the domestic market first, if not, then I'll restrict the exports," said Nurwan.

In addition, the government also applied the highest retail price, known as HET, to stabilize oil prices. However, despite the changes, Oke admitted that the stocks are still below the expected number.

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA