TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Narasi Institute CEO and public policy expert Achmad Nur Hidayat on Sunday lamented that the government lacks the competence in controlling the problem of cooking oil scarcity and other staple products.
Citing the statement reported by Bisnis.com on March 20, he argues that the price controlling policy the government introduced failed to solve the price issue regarding cooking oil, “Many perceive the government unable to control prices and handed it over to the interests of oligarchs.”
Meanwhile, Narasi Institute co-founder Fadhil Hasan believes that Indonesia’s domestic economy will face the threat of high inflation amidst the process of economic recovery, which is currently starting to be evident.
“Starting from supply scarcity and growing prices of cooking oil, sugar and soybean price hikes, along with other staple foods has become a constant attack against the public which has worsened the struggle of the general public,” said Fadhil.
Moreover, the Association of Agriculture Experts (Perhepi) deputy Lely Pelitasari believes that the government must be able to secure the availability of such commodities instead of just imposing regulations.
Pelitasari believes the cooking oil market is an oligopoly market as it is 40 percent concentrated on four major companies, which needs a firm government role as regulators.
“How can the government regulate a market like this with one mechanism, either tariff or non-tariff policy. One thing that is often forgotten in this case is that the government can regulate but does not own the goods.” said Lely.
Sumber: https://en.tempo.co/read/1573161/experts-criticize-lack-of-govt-control-in-cooking-oil-scarcity-price-hike
