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Govt to issue basic commodity regulation
Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel says the government will issue a presidential regulation on basic commodity prices to anticipate price hikes
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T
rade Minister Rachmat Gobel says the government will issue a presidential regulation on basic commodity prices to anticipate price hikes.
'I am waiting for the issuance of the presidential regulation based on the Trade Law, so the government can set basic commodity prices in certain situations,' Rachmat said in Jakarta on Saturday.
He referred to Law No. 7/2014 on trade. However, he has not specified when the regulation will be issued.
With the regulation, the ministry will be able to regulate the prices of key commodities such as rice, soya, corn and others.
In February, the price of rice, Indonesia's staple food, rose by up to 30 percent in some areas.
Factors such as a late harvest, uneven rice distribution and the existence of a so-called 'rice mafia' are speculated to be among the triggers of the price hike.
The director of the Institute for the Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF), Enny Sri Hartati, warned that many other factors should be considered relating to the issuance of the presidential regulation, which she thought referred to New Order era regulations.
Since the 1960s, the government has used a range of policies to stabilize the prices of crucial commodities.
'The government should ensure that there is sufficient supply. The market is also waiting for the government to intervene in the market mechanism, such as by eradicating the cartels,' she said. (fsu) (++++)
