Two ministers from President Prabowo Subianto’s Red and White Cabinet have openly declared their commitment to combat trade mafias in Indonesia. The two ministers are Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman and Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa.

Amran, who also serves as the Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), announced that he will concentrate on eradicating the subsidized fertilizer mafia, following President Prabowo Subianto’s official decision to reduce the price of subsidized fertilizers on Wednesday (October 22, 2025).

"If anyone raises the price, their license will be revoked that same day. There will be no room to exploit Indonesian farmers. There is no place for mafia or corruption in the agricultural sector," said Amran during a press conference at his office in Jakarta, as quoted on Friday (October 24, 2025).

He stressed that the government will take firm action against anyone found increasing fertilizer prices beyond the regulated amount. If such violations occur, the offenders’ business licenses will be revoked, and legal proceedings will be initiated against them—whether they are distributors or retailers.

"If anyone raises fertilizer prices, their license will be revoked, and they will face legal prosecution. We will strictly monitor this matter. God willing, agricultural production will continue to rise," Amran asserted.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa vowed that he would show no mercy toward importers of secondhand clothes packed in bales (balpres). He plans to impose additional penalties on these illegal import mafias, including fines, blacklisting from the importer registry, and imprisonment.

"Anyone who has ever imported balpres will be blacklisted and prohibited from importing goods again," said Purbaya at his office in Jakarta, on Wednesday (October 22, 2025).

He explained that this measure is necessary because law enforcement against illegal imports such as balpres has so far only resulted in imprisonment and destruction of seized goods, without any recovery of state losses.

"So far, the goods have only been destroyed, the importer imprisoned, but the state gets nothing—no fines, no compensation. I even lose money because I have to pay for destroying the goods and feeding those in prison," Purbaya emphasized.

He assured that this new approach would not harm secondhand clothing markets, such as Pasar Senen or other thrift shopping centers, because the government will replace imported stock with domestic products.

"We will fill the market with locally made goods. Do you want to support illegal MSMEs? That’s not our goal," said Purbaya.

"Our goal is to revive legal small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that can generate jobs and support domestic production. We want to revitalize the local textile industry," he elaborated.