Jakarta, June 3 (Antara) - The prices of basic necessities tend to increase in the run up to and during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and its subsequent Eid ul-Fitr or Lebaran festivities.
In its efforts to keep the prices stable, the government, through the state logistics board (Bulog), is launching the Food Price Stabilization Movement across the country.
Hence, the prices of basic commodities, such as rice, bulk cooking oil, onion, garlic, sugar, and chili, are relatively stable. In the context of price fluctuations, the prices of commodities a month to a week before the start of the current fasting month were generally stable as compared to those last year.
According to Economist James Adam of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the prices of basic commodities, such as rice, sugar, cooking oil, fresh and frozen beef, and shallots, are forecast to not increase during Ramadan and Lebaran.
The price stabilization movement, such as the launch of bazaars by Bulog, has had a positive impact on curbing the prices and inflation rate. Bulog is tasked with the on-field implementation of the government's program on price and inflation control.
"In the face of the fasting month and Lebaran, the prices of basic commodities always show an upward trend, yet the government always took anticipatory steps, so that the prices are under control," Adam remarked.
The IFAD member said that in order to ensure stability in prices during Ramadan and Lebaran, the government should intensify coordination with the agriculture ministry, Bulog, and the National Police, especially the Police Food Task Force. The National Police has set up food task forces at its headquarters and at its provincial and district levels.
"The relevant ministries, institutions, and agencies must at least coordinate and monitor developments on the field, particularly at the Bulog warehouses, Indonesian Trade Company, and distributors in the regions, so that they are aware of the position of stocks of basic commodities, especially rice, sugar, wheat flour, and cooking oil. They should be sufficient to meet the needs of the public during the fasting and Lebaran 2017 festivities," he stated.
Data during the period between 2013 and 2016 indicated that before the fasting month, there is usually a 0.97 to 9.6 percent rise in the prices of some basic goods due to the increasing demand of products, such as beef, chicken meat, and chicken eggs.
For some commodities, such as rice, sugar, cooking oil, wheat flour, and soybean, the prices are relatively stable.
During the same period, especially for horticultural commodities, hikes in the prices of products, such as red curly chili and large red chili, which rose between 3.47 to 23.13 percent, were due to low supplies as a result of extreme weather.
Basic necessities whose prices rose during the period of a month until a week before Ramadan were chicken eggs by 5.37 percent and garlic by 13.70 percent. Based on the records of the Ministry of Trade, commodities that experienced an increase in prices in the previous year were sugar by 9.80 percent, chicken meat by 8.44 percent, chicken eggs by 5.37 percent, red chili by 5.87 percent, and garlic by 6.38 percent.
"In order to achieve the inflation target of 2017, it is necessary for the central and regional governments to anticipate the price increase during the fasting month and Lebaran 2017. The inflation rate of volatile goods must be kept below five percent," Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita remarked.
He said the government will intervene if the price of one of the food commodities, such as shallots, fell sharply and disadvantaged the farmers. The trade minister will assign Bulog to purchase shallots from farmers at a government reference price of Rp22,500 per kilogram at the farm level.
"The problem is that the onion price drop is too sharp. We have made the assignment and informed the Ministry of State Enterprises that Bulog will purchase shallots if the price is lower than the government's reference price," Minister Lukita noted after holding a coordination meeting with the food task force at the Jakarta Trade Ministry on Wednesday, May 31.
If the price of red onion or shallots is relatively low, the price of garlic adversely increases in the run up to the fasting month.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution said the price of garlic, which increased in May 2017, should be controlled, so that it would not impact the inflation rate.
"There is a problem with garlic. It must really be handled," Nasution stated in Jakarta, Friday (June 2).
The increase in the price of garlic in May 2017 was caused by issues of supply that occurred at the importer level. Efforts to overcome the problem must be made.
"This is a huge problem with the importers who control the supply. I assign the task of solving the problem to the trade minister," the chief economic minister noted.
Legislator Hamdhani of Commission IV on Agriculture of the House of Representatives has urged the government to maximize Bulog's efforts in controlling the price of garlic, which in Jakarta, had reached up to Rp50 thousand to Rp70 thousand per kilogram.
***3***(A014/INE/o001)EDITED BY INE(T.A014/A/BESSR/O. Tamindael) 03-06-2017 11:56: |
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