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Jokowi blames spike in rice price on climate change
Jokowi said countries that served as suppliers of the staple commodity had endured crop failures as a result of climate change and a scarcity in the commodity had resulted in a price increase.
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo (second left) throws T-shirts to residents of Telukan village in Sukoharjo, Central Java, during his work visit in the region on Feb. 1, 2024. During the visit, Jokowi disbursed 10 kilograms of rice to low-income households. (Antara/Mohammad Ayudha)
P
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has blamed the spike in the price of premium quality rice on weather anomalies happening around the world as a result of climate change.
Jokowi said countries that served as suppliers of the staple commodity had endured crop failures as a result of climate change and a scarcity in the commodity had resulted in a price increase.
"The price of rice, throughout the world, not only Indonesia has increased. Why? because there's a phenomenon called climate change, changes in weather that result in crop failures," President Jokowi told reporters during a ceremony at which he disbursed social assistance (Bansos) in South Tangerang, Banten, on Monday.
Jokowi said that in terms of demand, there was no increase and the spike in the price of rice was simply a function of lower production.
In early February, responding to reports of a scarcity of rice in the market, President Jokowi ordered the National Food Agency (Bapanas) to release stocks kept by the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) in a move that the President described as "flooding the market”.
Consumers in the country have complained about the scarcity of rice, especially the premium type, which comes in 5-kilogram bags.
