Jakarta Deputy Gov Promises 2 Shipments of Cooking Oil per Week

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria asked residents not to worry about cooking oil, which is now rare in the market. Riza said that the distribution of cooking oil will be done twice a week to overcome the scarcity.

"It has been confirmed that they will be sent twice a week. So, Jakartans don't have to worry," said the Deputy Governor of DKI at Jakarta City Hall, Wednesday, March 9, 2022.

Riza Patria said the Trade Minister and his officials have also ensured that the price of cooking oil would stay affordable.

The delivery of cooking oil supplies to Jakarta is not only to ensure market availability, but also to ensure that the price is not above the maximum retail price (HET), which is capped at Rp14,000 per liter.

According to Riza, the issue of the availability and the soaring price of cooking oil in Jakarta has been coordinated with the Trade Ministry.

Yesterday, Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi said the shortage was due to leakage of cheap cooking oil at the distributor level, with the products being distributed to industries or smuggled abroad as international prices are higher. As a result, prices in the domestic market soared.

Lutfi also suspected there were speculators holding back supplies—waiting for the government to revoke the cooking oil HET policy. "There are no plans or thoughts to revoke the HET," Lutfi said when visiting the Kebayoran Lama Market in South Jakarta.

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