Indonesia pulls affordable cooking oil Minyakita from food aid program

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Trade Minister Budi Santoso stated that Minyakita, Indonesia's government-backed affordable cooking oil brand, is no longer included in the government's food assistance program.

“Minyakita is no longer allocated for food aid. All supplies will be distributed through traditional markets so that people can access it more easily,” Santoso said at the Trade Ministry office in Jakarta on Monday.

The ministry continues to coordinate with producers, state-owned logistics company Bulog, and ID Food to ensure that Minyakita distribution runs smoothly and remains accessible to consumers nationwide.

He emphasized that Minyakita is not subsidized cooking oil but a product distributed under the Domestic Market Obligation (DMO) scheme, which requires businesses to allocate part of their output to meet domestic demand.

According to Santoso, future government food assistance programs could be designed more flexibly, depending on market conditions and the need to absorb commodities that experiencing oversupply.

As an example, he said eggs could be included in food assistance programs when farm-gate prices decline significantly. A similar approach could also be applied to other commodities, such as chicken.

Furthermore, synergy between government food assistance programs and the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) initiative could help absorb food commodities facing price pressures at the producer level.

“Basic commodities whose prices are falling, such as chicken, can also be absorbed through the MBG program. The ecosystem is now functioning well,” he said.

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Translator: Maria C, Asri Mayang Sari

Editor: M Razi Rahman

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