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KPPU sets up fact-finding team to probe surge in rice prices
Building on the information uncovered during a focus group discussion on Wednesday, a special team will be deployed to investigate potential market manipulation related to the surge in rice prices, the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) has announced.
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A worker carries a sack of rice on Feb. 13, 2024 at a warehouse in Jakarta. (Reuters/AJENG DINAR ULFIANA)
T
he Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) has formed a team to investigate the recent surge in the price of rice and look for evidence of potential cartel behavior among rice traders.
"The rice situation is a matter of concern for us, and we have set up a special team comprising members from the study and law enforcement teams,” said KPPU commissioner Hilman Pudjana, as quoted by news portal detik.com.
The team of experts and law enforcement agents were tasked with monitoring and analyzing the entire rice supply chain from the upstream to the downstream, he added.
Hilman also said the team would build on the insights gained on Wednesday from a focus group discussion (FGD) involving various stakeholders held by the KPPU.
The KPPU had gathered preliminary information through the FGD with relevant parties, including rice producers, the trade and agriculture ministries, the National Food Agency (Bapanas), the Indonesian Rice Millers and Traders Association (Perpadi) and PT Food Station Tjipinang Jaya.
“Whatever the results of the FGD and data collection, we will follow up on it. We may progress to law enforcement processes, provided we have [the necessary] evidence," he added.
The KPPU would focus on potential supply disruptions as a factor that had contributed to the price surge, Hilman continued, pointing to El Niño-related weather events and the decline in rice production as other factors.
