Jakarta Dec 26 (Antara) - As the nation gears up for Christmas and New Year holidays, the government has assured people that there are ample stocks of all basic necessities, including rice.
The stocks of rice, the country's staple food and its most important food commodity, are adequate to meet demand until May 2017. The state logistics board (Bulog) has a stock of 1.75 million tons of rice, and traders have another 15-18 million tons. Sugar stocks are also enough to meet demand for the next four months.
"We learn from our observation in the field that stocks and supplies of basic necessities from distributors are stable and smooth. It runs well as the process at ports is smooth," Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita said in Jakarta on Friday (Dec 23).
According to the minister, price turmoil usually takes place as a result of three factors, namely transportation problems, speculation by traders, and bad weather.
Distribution is hampered if transportation is not smooth due to measures like imposition of close-open road policy during long holidays such as Christmas and New Year. Such disruptions in transportation cause supply imbalances.
The situation can worsen if traders indulge in speculation to benefit monetarily from their stocks. After all, year-end weather conditions always bring in high rainfall, which hampers distribution through both sea and land.
Therefore, the trade ministry pays serious attention to the availability of basic necessities such as rice, sugar, shallots, chili, beef, chicken, and cooking oil. As of December 22, the prices of basic goods showed a declining trend, but in a number of regions they also trended upwards.
Yet, based on its assessment, the ministry of trade guarantees that supplies of basic needs are adequate for at least the next three months. Stocks of non-perishable commodities such as rice, sugar, cooking oil and wheat are adequate. "In the run-up to the New Year, distributors have taken anticipatory steps to increase stocks to meet the rising demand," Enggartiasto said.
In some regional divisions, the stocks of rice are adequate to meet demand until March 2017. These included PSO rice (for Raskin and market operations) stocks and commercial rice stocks.
The minister also held meetings with several associations to check the volume of available supplies.
He urged businessmen not to raise the price of merchandise to gain undue benefit from the New Year and Christmas holidays. If prices go up, the trade ministry will provide a reference price. Enggartiasto Lukita assured people that prices of basic necessities (groceries) will remain stable during the festive season.
He had previously met a number of businessmen because he wanted to hear directly from them. "We do not want to merely say stocks are adequate. I myself check it in the field and talk directly to all business stakeholders," asserted Enggartiasto.
Traders and businessmen were asked not to increase the prices of goods. If they want to raise them, the trade ministry will provide them with a reference price.
Meanwhile, Director General for Internal Trade of the Trade Ministry Oke Nurwan said that his ministry, besides having meetings with businesses, also coordinated with trade services in all regions to obtain reports on stocks and supplies of essential goods.
The ministry's monitoring activities were focused on regions where widespread Christmas celebrations take place. It also facilitated bazaars. Recent trade ministry data indicated that the average price of medium rice was Rp10,620 per kilogram (kg), sugar Rp12,810 per kg, beef Rp108,510 per kg, and race chicken meat Rp31,890 per kg.
The price of red and curly chili was pegged at Rp32,970 per kg, jumbo red chili at Rp28,940 per kg, red cayenne pepper at Rp44,420 per kg, and jumbo shallots at Rp24,460 per kg.
To meet demand for meat, Indonesia imported meat from India. So far, 50 thousand tons of the 70 thousand allowed to be imported have arrived.
On other commodities such as cooking oil, where prices have shown an upward trend, the government has asked traders to scale down prices to the normal level.
Further, the government will shore up the functioning of regional warehouses, where rice and other basic necessities are stored, to control distribution.
"These warehouses will be monitored, and we will keep a record of their ownership and capacity. These are not intended to facilitate hoarding," Enggartiasto said.
The toning up of warehouses' functioning is intended to control the distribution of basic food items, especially rice. "If there is a price increase, I will immediately inspect the warehouse. If I find stock being hoarded, it would amount to a violation and will be dealt with," he warned.
Indonesia has 14,400 storehouses but not all are registered officially, and the process to ensure registration is on. Bulog also has 150 warehouses. If these are found inadequate, the minister said that the government would hire additional warehouses to control distribution, particularly of rice. There is a possibility that distribution could be hampered on account of adverse weather conditions, excessive supplies in certain areas, and holidays.(A014/INE)EDITED BY INE(T.A014/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 26-12-2016 23:37 |
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