Han Revanda, Jakarta – Members of the public and traders under the Indonesian People's Care Movement (Gempari) are set to hold a protest today against the alleged garlic import mafia. The protesters will move from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building, Istana Merdeka, to the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag).

Alfian, the field coordinator, stated that the action is a response to the soaring prices of garlic in the market. In Jakarta, based on data from Info Pangan Jakarta, the horticultural product has reached Rp46,747 per kilogram, exceeding the highest retail price (HET) of Rp38,000 per kilogram. He suspects that this price increase is due to the existence of an import quota mafia.

"If we want to eradicate the mafia, we need to start at the source," said Alfian to Tempo, Wednesday, February 26, 2025.

Alfian estimated that about 50 protesters will join tomorrow's action. They come from the community and feel aggrieved by the rising prices of garlic, along with some traders.

The action will start from the KPK building. There, Gempari will file a public complaint (dumas) regarding the alleged garlic mafia, then proceed to Istana Merdeka and Kemendag. At the ministry office, traders have prepared a number of sacks filled with rotten garlic.

In the notice of the action received by Tempo, the action urges the KPK to promptly investigate and prosecute the garlic quota mafia at Kemendag. They also urge the KPK, Attorney General's Office, and National Police Headquarters to investigate the garlic quota mafia, which is suspected to involve officials from the Ministry of Coordinating Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag).

The garlic import turmoil is a recurring issue every year. Tempo's investigation in 2023 uncovered that several companies dominated import quotas despite not meeting the mandatory planting requirements to obtain a Recommendation for the Import of Horticultural Products (RIPH). Additionally, there are allegations that businessmen must pay a certain amount of fees to secure import quotas.

This year, Minister of Coordinating Economic Affairs Zulkifli Hasan, alias Zulhas, claimed that Kemendag had issued approvals for the import of 300 thousand tons of garlic. Three importers interviewed by Tempo stated that most of the issued import permits were directed to new companies. Based on information obtained by Tempo, a total of 26 out of 87 business entities have obtained import permits.

On the other hand, longstanding importers have not received a share of import quotas. Not to mention import permits, they are now unable to apply for recommendations for the import of horticultural products (RIPH) to the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan). However, these importers have been involved in the garlic import business for years and have fulfilled the mandatory planting requirements set by Kementan.

When asked about the allegations of new companies receiving import permits, Minister of Trade Budi Santoso claimed to be unfamiliar with the recipients of the import permits. "I don't remember, but, but the import permits have been issued," he said to Tempo, Wednesday, February 26, 2025.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1980540/kpk-urged-to-investigate-garlic-import-mafia-at-ministry-of-trad