Thomas Trikasih Lembong - JP/Ricky Yudhistira

Indonesia is importing 2,500 tons shallots to stabilize skyrocketing prices that stem from poor handling of production in the leadup to the Ramadhan and Idul Fitri high season. Trade Minister Thomas Trikasih Lembong explained the food supply-chain issue when he sat down with The Jakarta Post’s Dewanti A. Wardhani and other journalists.

Question: When it comes to food, there is always the issue of supply chains. How will the government monitor distribution through Trade Ministry Regulation No. 22/2016 on the distribution of goods?

Answer: This regulation must be reviewed because many businesses have expressed objections.

What were their objections?

It may be too rigid in regulating the distribution system. I’m not sure that we need to regulate in such detail. What’s important is transparency and routine data collection, but how producers and distributors interact should be left up to them.

How do you think the government has dealt with the food issue ahead of and during the month of Ramadhan?

Personally, I think it’s been far from optimal. There should have been better planning since months ago. So I personally acknowledge that our performance has been far from optimal.

Like I’ve said before, we handled rice just fine because we’ve prepared long enough [...], but the three other [main] commodities, namely sugar, shallots and beef, have been handled poorly.

Maybe we can tolerate sugar because it was a surprise for the whole world when global sugar prices soared 26 percent. And there is only so much we can do to prevent a global occurrence like this. What should not have happened is the messy beef situation.

We are already into the sixth month of 2016. However, prices of beef, sugar and shallots are still not optimal. What is the government’s plan for the next six months?

First, we will conduct mapping. An initiative by the Office of the Coordinating Economic Minister is to use a drone to view shallot plantations to gain more accurate data. We can identify discrepancies in land and production data. This same method will be used for rice fields.

This needs a longer and more detailed discussion with the economic team on how to reform data collecting system on land productivity. For example, we can use a spectral analysis with the drone in order to measure land productivity.

Currently this technology is still on trial. Hopefully in the era of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla — both of whom are technology enthusiasts — we can implement technology for a more accurate data.

Has the government discussed the potential effects of La Niña on crops?

We’ve already discussed this in detail. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency [BMKG] has also explained this in detail. Eastern Indonesia will experience La Niña, while the western part will experience a southern oscillation.

However, both are wet and have similar impacts. During a meeting with the President, Vice President, coordinating economic minister, finance minister, state-owned enterprises minister, agriculture minister and State Logistics Agency [Bulog], I asked whether or not we should use a dryer to dry the young rice crops.

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