The Indonesian people are waiting for swift intervention from the government for lowering the price of cooking oil, which has continued to spike in recent weeks, Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) Puan Maharani has said.

“The people are waiting for the government’s fast work to lower the price of cooking oil. Therefore, it must soon control the soaring price of cooking oil in the market,” she remarked in a written statement released on Wednesday.

The price of cooking oil has currently reached Rp20 thousand per liter. The national price of cooking oil is not stable because it has not been controlled for long and gradually, it has added to the burden on the people, she said.

“This condition is really difficult for low-income people, the more so because the prices of many other foodstuffs have also soared since late last year,” she elaborated.

Maharani praised President Joko Widodo, who has ordered his ranks to control the price of cooking oil without delay. The people are waiting for government action, she said.

The price of cooking oil has soared due to the high price of crude palm oil (CPO) in the international market, Maharani noted.

The government should have intervened in the market from the beginning to prevent the continued price rise, she added.

“Market operations need to be conducted periodically. Relevant offices in the regions must continue to ensure cooking oil stocks in the market so that it will not become scarce and its price can return to normal,” she advised.

She highlighted the steps taken by the Trade Ministry to augment cooking oil stocks so that oil will remain available nationwide at an affordable price.

Market operations to sell cooking oil in simple packs priced at Rp14 thousand per liter should have been conducted long before the Christmas and New Year Holidays, she said.

Source: Antara News