TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Market intervention kicks off to control food prices
Change Size
Customers walk through a subsidized food bazaar operated by Jakarta-owned market operator PD Pasar Jaya in Glodok market in West Jakarta. (Antara/Aprilio Akbar)
A
head of the fasting month of Ramadhan, which begins on May 27, state logistics agency Bulog on Wednesday began to distribute staple foods to stabilize prices in markets as part of a two-week long market intervention program.
“Distribution will continue for two weeks across Indonesia,” said Bulog president director Djarot Kusumayakti during the launching of the program, called the “Food Stabilization Movement,” on Wednesday.
Bulog has stocked more than 2 million tons of rice, 320,000 tons of sugar, 207,000 liters of vegetable oil, 62 tons of garlic, 60 tons of shallots and 37,500 tons of meats—almost all of which is buffalo meat from India.
“More shallots and garlic will come from local and foreign farmers to fulfill the demand,” he said.
The staples will be sold to individuals in traditional markets at set prices, such as Rp 8,500 (63 US cents) for one kilogram of rice, Rp 12,500 for one kg sugar and Rp 38,000 for one kg of garlic.
The commodities can be bought from Bulog during market hours or through Bulog’s Rumah Pangan Kita partner shops set up across the archipelago.
Sellers looking to buy staples in bulk from Bulog can contact the agency for discounted prices. (bbn)
