T

he government plans to intensify market operations to curb the surge in food prices ahead of and during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan, which will start later this week, Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Hatta said that market operations would be carried out in order to increase the supply of three main commodities — meat, sugar and rice. “To stabilize meat prices, Agriculture Minister Suswono pledged to accelerate distributions to the market,” Hatta told reporters after a coordination meeting with economic ministers in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The prices of staple food products such as rice, sugar, meat, eggs, chickens and flour have jumped between 10 percent and 25 percent this week as people increase purchases in preparation for the festive month. Although Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from dawn until sunset during the month, the demand for food increases significantly as they consume more food during fast-breaking celebrations with their families and friends.

Hatta said that the government was also aware that there had been a growing scarcity of sugar in the lead-up to Ramadhan and pledged to address the issue as soon as possible.

“Most of the sugar in the market was purchased by industrial consumers, who claim that they have yet to receive 400,000 tons of their allocated supply. Therefore, industrial sugar distribution will also be intensified so that industries no longer use sugar that is meant for the public. The initial distribution to fulfill industrial needs will stand at around 250,000 tons,” Hatta said.

This year’s industrial sugar supply allocation stands at 2.5 million tons, of which industrial consumers have received 2.1 million tons, according to Hatta. As for rice, Hatta believed that the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) had taken sufficient measures to maintain national supplies.

“Rice production has also shown very good progress. In addition, Bulog also pledges to increase rice reserves to 2 million tons from 1.5 million tons. This needs to be done to anticipate the effects of climate change and draught,” Hatta said.

Hatta also said that the supply of rice reserved for the poor (raskin) would be disbursed before the end of Ramadhan.

Staple food prices at several traditional markets have begun to creep up in anticipation of the upcoming fasting month, which starts on July 20.

The price of rice in Jakarta’s traditional markets, for example, has increased by between Rp 200 (2 US cents) and Rp 500 per kilogram over the past two weeks. Besides rice, the price of chili, one of Indonesia’s favorite spices, has also increased from Rp 25,000 to Rp 30,000 per kilogram at Central Jakarta’s Pasar Baru traditional market.