President Jokowi apprehensive about 2017 inflation exceeding last year`s figure

cidiss.co, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has expressed apprehension about the inflation rate in 2017 surpassing last years 3.02 percent unless the country exercises caution.

“I fear if we do not exercise caution this year, we will not be able to maintain the inflation rate of 3 to 3.5 percent,” the president stated while opening a working meeting of the Trade Ministry for 2017 at the State Palace here on Tuesday.

He called on the Trade Ministry to continue monitoring the supply of basic commodities, so that their prices could be kept under control.

“Once again, (I want the ministry) to constantly monitor the inflation rate of 3.02 percent,” he noted.

Although the inflation rate target for 2017 has been set at four percent in the state budget, the president wants it to be lower than 3.02 percent recorded a year earlier.

“I want it to continue to drop. In stable countries, the inflation rate reaches only 0-1 percent. If in the past, our inflation rates had reached eight to nine percent or higher, we must control them now,” he emphasized.

He further called on the Trade Ministry to keep a constant check on the stocks of goods, particularly of basic necessities.

“Please monitor them every day, hour, and second,” he stated.

The president also urged the ministry to build an application system to monitor prices from the regional to central levels.

“The development cost of the application is not high, at only millions of rupiah and less than billions of rupiah. The application will function as a platform to gather price information from the regional to central levels,” he added.