Following the increase in fuel prices, the government is closely monitoring commodity prices in order to anticipate the risk of rampant inflation.
“We are continuing to monitor the (dynamics) of food commodity prices so that we can immediately anticipate if there is a price spike,” Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said here on Friday.
After the increase in fuel prices in early September, some commodities, such as chilis and shallots, saw an increase in prices, though they tended to decline and were stable.
The price of rice, however, needs to be monitored as it is still seeing an upward trend.
Through the Central and Regional Inflation Control Teams, the government has continued to improve collaboration on policy programs for price stabilization, especially after the fuel price adjustment.
“The synergy between the inflation control teams will also be improved through the National Movement for Food Inflation Control to encourage price stabilization,” the minister said.
In addition, the government is also expanding interregional cooperation, particularly among areas with either a surplus or deficit, as a means to maintain the availability of food stocks.
Another effort to stabilize rice prices without delay has involved increasing the frequency of market operations, including for the food stock availability and price stability program.
Moreover, cooperation with digital agricultural players has also been expedited to increase productivity, besides the promotion of the use of technology to facilitate distribution, Hartarto said.
The government is also promoting the home garden food program for commodities such as chilis to anticipate high demand at the end of the year.
“In the medium term, we will also develop a closed loop program in the downstreaming of horticultural products,” he informed.
Facilities and infrastructure for storing harvested products, especially in production center areas, will also be improved to ensure their longer shelf life.
He said he is confident that all of these efforts will help keep inflation below 5 percent until the end of 2022.
Source: Antara News