Jakarta –
Palm oil businessmen answered the cartel’s accusations behind the recent soaring cooking oil prices. Allegations of a cartel were sniffed out by the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) to the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI).
President Director of PT Astra Agro Lestari Tbk Santosa emphasized that the palm oil industry entrepreneurs are committed to helping the government maintain the stability of cooking oil prices, while continuing to strive to maintain the company’s profitability.
“This cooking oil issue seems as if there is a cartel, I don’t know how true it is, but it feels like the commitment of all palm oil industry players is also to balance our need to show performance as a profit-seeking company with social contributions including the stability of cooking oil prices. Together with the government, we are working hard so that it can be achieved as soon as possible,” he said in a virtual talk, Tuesday (15/2/2022).
He explained that the palm oil industry was hit by many issues and negative perceptions, including cooking oil which had recently soared.
“There are so many issues in palm oil, and the perception of most, especially the world community, towards palm oil is very negative. I am quite happy to see that the developments in the last 10 years have been very positive. If we look at the first 10 years of our setup, how can we try together with GAPKI change the perception that palm oil is not all bad,” he said.
To be honest, his party is also worried if the price of palm oil or crude palm oil (CPO) continues to rise because it will affect the price of cooking oil. At that time, the Domestic Market Obligation (DMO) and Domestic Price Obligation (DPO) policies were not in effect.
“Indeed, in the last two months I have seen that last year we were quite positive, the contribution to the economy was quite high but if the price was too high, I am worried, last year was also a bit worried. If it is too much, it will have an impact and we feel the price of cooking oil goes up. , it’s wrong again,” he explained.
That is certainly a dilemma. Because, if the price of palm oil falls, it will hit the palm oil industry itself.
KPPU previously detected cartel practices in the phenomenon of rising cooking oil prices. The cartel in question is a price game from entrepreneurs and palm oil producers.
“The cartel’s signal is legible, as evidenced by its compactness (producers of CPO and cooking oil) which increase the price of cooking oil. Even though the cost of producing palm oil has not increased,” said KPPU Commissioner, Ukay Karyadi in an online journalist forum on January 20, 2022.
The chairman of the YLKI Daily Committee, Tulus Abadi, previously explained that the price of cooking oil was high due to the effects of Christmas and New Year’s 2022. Now that moment has passed but the price is still high.
“I suspect there is a cartel or oligopoly practice. In the Law on the Prohibition of Monopolistic Practices and Unfair Business Competition, there are prohibitions related to unfair business practices, monopolies, oligopolies, and cartels. another for consumers,” he told detik.com January 10, 2022.
Watch the video ‘Factors Cause Cooking Oil Scarcity in Retail Stores’:
(toy/the)
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