T

he Agriculture Ministry is saying that the importation of several main food commodities will be the government'€™s last option to curb rising prices ahead of the month-long Ramadhan festivities in the middle of June.

Instead, the government would focus on other measures to improve the supply chain, including by establishing '€œfood pioneer tracks'€ that will prioritize distribution of foods and ensure there will be no queues or delays in both land and sea shipments in hopes of ensuring adequate supplies.

'€œI have coordinated with the transportation and trade ministers as well as the State Logistics Agency [Bulog] regarding this program, which will ensure that main food commodities, such as rice, corn, soybean and beef, should be exempted from queuing in ports and on roads,'€ Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman said Monday on the sidelines of a meeting with the House of Representatives'€™ Commission IV.

In Southeast Asia'€™s largest economy, consumer price increases normally peak during the Ramadhan and Idul Fitri festivities as demands surge among the population of 250 million people, almost 90 percent of whom are Muslims.

But the price increases are largely a problem of supply instead of output, Amran said, so relevant government institutions and ministries should work closely together '€” especially the agriculture and trade ministries and the state logistics agency, Bulog.

'€œImports will be the last option and we are supposed to not be easy on imports if prices rise only slightly,'€ Amran told reporters.

President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo previously expressed his concerns about the country'€™s '€œvery high'€ inflation rate, giving the green light to import crucial food commodities from chili to shallots to stabilize prices during the upcoming fasting month of Ramadhan. That was after a 7.15 percent inflation rate was recorded in May, the highest level this year, driven by food price increases even before the festivities begin.

Indonesia has begun importing beef as one of the main food commodities, but it would not need to import other items such as chilies, shallots and rice, according to Amran. Chilies and shallots are big factors in Indonesia'€™s inflationary pressure, as they play important roles in the diets of Indonesians.

Amran said the urgency to import several main food commodities could be lowered through better monitoring of prices and direct market operations, despite the green light for importation given by the President.

According to Amran, imports should not be regarded as the only solution for supply problems. He cited a previous experience in February when prices of rice rose 30 percent to Rp 12,000 [9 US cents] per kilogram and the problem had been solved not through imports, but by improving distribution.

Amran said his ministry had also started routine direct market operations twice a day in all regions and coordinated with regional administrations to report any shortage immediately in order to fill the supply gap by using surplus stocks from other regions.

'€œWe ensured that shallot prices are already maintained at the level of Rp 15,000 per kilogram in the Kramat Jati wholesale market in Jakarta early Monday morning, but we also found a vendor who sell his shallots at Rp 27,000 per kilogram. This means we have to improve the management of food commerce,'€ Amran said.

Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel said the government would tolerate a 10 percent increase in food prices during Ramadhan and Idul Fitri. When the prices rise above the benchmark, the government would conduct direct market operations and coordinate with other ministries on the measures to be taken.

'€œWe will immediately crack down on speculators who are caught hoarding, which could prompt price increases in any area,'€ Rachmat said.