Papua Police Task Force Urges Traders Against Hoarding Subsidized Cooking Oil

The Food Task Force of the Papua Regional Police has issued a strong appeal to traders, urging them to refrain from hoarding subsidized cooking oil. This initiative aims to prevent artificial scarcity and subsequent price surges in the market, particularly for the subsidized brand "MinyaKita."

The appeal follows a monitoring operation conducted by the task force in Jayapura on Thursday. Kasatgas Pangan Polda Papua, Kombes Rama Samtama Putra, stated that the monitoring was essential to ensure the availability of cooking oil and track price movements. "The appeal to traders not to store goods is to anticipate such situations," he emphasized.

During the monitoring, the supply of "MinyaKita" in Jayapura was confirmed to be secure. Bulog, the state logistics agency, has supplied approximately 90,000 liters, equivalent to five containers, which have already arrived. However, despite the abundant stock, the selling prices at the retail level remain inconsistent.

Traders collaborating with Bulog adhere to the Highest Retail Price (HET) of Rp15,700 per liter. Conversely, those outside this network are selling the product at prices ranging up to Rp20,000 per liter. Residents have voiced complaints about these price discrepancies and purchase restrictions. Fatimah, a homemaker from Pasar Hamadi, reported that most traders sell MinyaKita between Rp20,000 and Rp22,000 per liter. She also noted that traders selling at the official price often limit purchases to a maximum of two liters per customer.