Serious about Stabilizing Rice Prices, President Jokowi Gathers Ministers and Prepares Strategy
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is very serious in his efforts to stabilize rice prices in the country. In fact, he even gathered ministers in the Advanced Indonesia Cabinet (KIM) to come to the State Palace and prepare steps and strategies for this effort.
The ministers were gathered by the Head of State to review the stabilization of food prices such as corn and sugar, including rice. The ministers who came included the Coordinating Minister (Menko) for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto, the Acting Minister (Plt) of the Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) who is also the Chairman of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Aref Prastyo Adi to the Main Director (Dirut) of the Logistics Business Entity ( Bulog) Budi Waseso.
Some time ago, President Jokowi himself ordered rice import activities to be able to continue to maintain stocks and price stability. Then regarding this matter, a number of ministries and also several other related institutions have coordinated well. Namely the Ministry of Agriculture, Bapanas, Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Economy and other parties.
According to Jokowi, farmers are now very happy because now prices can rise. It is known that the price of grain has now reached up to 7,600 Rupiah per kilogram. However, it turns out that on the other hand, the rising price of grain also causes the price of rice to rise too.
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said that the meeting held discussed efforts to stabilize food prices such as rice, corn and sugar because previously, the president had mentioned how there had been an increase in the price of rice grain when he carried out a review of the rice harvest in Subang, West Java (West Java).
It is feared that price increases will continue to occur if supply decreases, causing consumers, who are people in Indonesia, to scream. Therefore, the Government immediately has a commitment to overcome this by pouring money into the market so that prices can be lowered.
As is known, according to President Jokowi, the price of rice at the Cipinang Rice Main Market has gradually fallen. He then hopes that the decline in rice prices will also occur at the consumer level so that all elements of society in the country will be able to enjoy rice at an affordable price.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) Muhammad Tito Karnavian continues to be active in his efforts to build coordination and also take many anticipatory steps to be able to face the increase in rice prices together with many other parties such as the Regional Government (Pemda) and also the Ministry and Relevant institutions (K/L).
This effort continues to be carried out by the Government as a response to the recent increase in rice prices which has been quite significant, especially in the period from September to October 2023, which also coincides with the increase in prices of several other commodities on the market such as garlic and granulated sugar. and corn.
However, if you look at it in general, developments in rice prices are currently still relatively stable. However, there must be very special attention to the situation of grain and rice in several regions in the country, especially in Central Kalimantan (Kalteng) and Central Java Province (Central Java) because rice prices have experienced a very marked increase.
In order to overcome this situation, the National Food Agency (Bapanas) has also taken various steps, including determining the Cost of Goods Sold (HPP) on retail grain and rice as well as distributing rice to continue to maintain the stability of supply and food prices. as directed by the Head of State.
One of the challenges faced by the Government in this effort is ensuring that the rice distributed actually reaches traditional markets and does not stop at distributors, and is able to prevent rice hoarding.
The government is also increasing the Cheap Food Movement with the support of the distribution of social assistance (Bansos), which involves providing food assistance to as many as 21.5 million beneficiary families during the period from September to November. The President immediately moved quickly and gathered ministers in his cabinet to prepare a series of strategies. President Joko Widodo is very serious in his efforts to stabilize rice prices in Indonesia.
