KOMPAS.com - The price of cooking oil has soared in recent times, people have complained about its role as a basic need (expensive cooking oil). The increase did not only occur in packaged cooking oil, but also in bulk cooking oil which is usually sold in clear plastic packaging in the market. As is known, the government through the Ministry of Trade has actually set the highest retail price (HET) for simple packaged cooking oil of Rp 11,000 liters.However, the facts on the ground are that the price of cooking oil has far exceeded the HET. In some markets, the price of cooking oil is already above
IDR 18,000 per liter. The pretext for the increase in cooking oil prices from producers is due to the increase in CPO prices in the global market.Oil palm plantations in Indonesia are so far concentrated in Kalimantan and Sumatra. Several other large oil palm plantations are located in Sulawesi and are now slowly starting to penetrate Papua.
After overtaking Malaysia a few years ago, Indonesia itself is now listed as the largest producer of palm oil or CPO in the world. Not surprisingly, many owners of oil palm plantations and cooking oil producers are entrepreneurs who are among the richest people in Indonesia. Apart from owning their own palm oil mills, they also own oil palm plantations of up to tens of thousands of hectares, even hundreds of thousands of hectares. The following is a list of wealthy conglomerates from the cooking oil manufacturing business in Indonesia:
1. Martua Sitorus
Martua Sitorus is the figure behind Wilmar's business with one of its products being cooking oil with various brands. In Indonesia, Wilmar's cooking oil brands are Fortune and Sania. As noted by Forbes, Martua Sitorus has a net worth of 2.9 billion US dollars and places him on the order of 1,101 richest people in the world. Together with Kuok Khoon Hong, Martua Sitorus founded Wilmar in 1991. However, rather than in Indonesia, the company chose to be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX). Wilmar International Ltd was listed as the world's largest palm oil company in 2018. When it was first established, the company owned less than 10,000 hectares of oil palm plantations in North Sumatra. Then the company continues to grow to hundreds of thousands of hectares and has many palm oil processing factories. Forbes magazine even dubbed him the King of Indonesian Palm Oil.
2. Bachtiar Karim
Bachtiar Karim together with his brothers, Burhan and Bahari, are the owners of the Musim Mas Group, one of the largest palm oil companies in Indonesia. In 2019, sales of the palm oil conglomerate reached US$6.6 billion. Famous cooking oil products from Musim Mas are Sanco, Amago, and Voila. Bachtiar Karim is the richest person in Indonesia at number eleven according to Forbes. His total wealth is 3.1 billion US dollars. 3. Anthony Salim Anthony Salim is not only known for his instant noodle product, Indomie. Palm oil is also a contributor to the wealth of the Salim Group. The Salim family's palm oil business is run through its company Indofood Agri Resources Ltd.
3. Anthony Salim
Anthony Salim is not only known for his instant noodle product, Indomie. Palm oil is also a contributor to the wealth of the Salim Group. The Salim family's palm oil business is run through its company Indofood Agri Resources Ltd. Other palm oil companies under the Salim Group include PT Perusahaan Perkebunan London Sumatra Indonesia Tbk (LSIP) and PT Salim Ivomas Pratama Tbk (SIMP). Famous cooking oil products from the Salim Group are Bimoli, Delima, and Happy. The second generation of the Salim family has also been named by Forbes several times as the richest person in Indonesia. In 2020, he is in fourth place with a wealth of 5.9 billion US dollars or around Rp. 83.35 trillion. However, in 2021, Anthony Salim's name disappeared from the Forbes Magazine's list of Indonesia's richest people. In the past few years, the Salim Group has also acquired many palm oil companies, so the area of palm oil plantations it manages is getting bigger.
4. Widjaya's family
The next ruler of cooking oil is the Widjaja family who are the owners of the Sinar Mas Group. Its famous cooking oil product is Filma. Its founder, Eka Tjipta Widjaya, is regularly included in the list of the richest people in Indonesia. After the death of Eka Tjipta, the company's business was passed on to the second and third generations. Eka died in January 2019 at the age of 98.
5. Sukanto Tanoto
Sukanto Tanoto is a conglomerate owner of the Royal Golden Eagle International (RGEI) business group, formerly known as Raja Garuda Mas, based in Singapore. Before he was as big as he is today, Sukanto started his business in 1967 as a supplier of spare parts and an entrepreneur in the field of construction services for the oil industry. The RGE business group is engaged in various industries including the largest, namely the paper and pulp industry by (Asia Pacific Resources International Holding Ltd or APRIL), and the Palm Oil plantation industry (Asian Agri and Apical). According to Forbes, Sukanto Tanoto's wealth reaches US$2.1 billion and puts him in the order of 1,561 the richest people in the world in 2021. RGEI's palm oil and cooking oil business is under the banner of Apical and Asian Agri. One of its well-known cooking oil products is the Camar.