Jakarta (ANTARA) \u2013 Bambang Haryo Soekartono, a member of Commission\nVII of the House of Representatives (DPR), has called for an\ninvestigation into suspected manipulation by intermediaries in the\ndistribution chain after finding what he described as an unreasonable\ngap between the price of chicken paid to farmers and the price charged\nto consumers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs the problem with the factory or the distributor? This needs to be\nestablished. I will keep checking and seeing for myself what is\nhappening on the ground,\u201d Bambang said in a statement confirmed in\nJakarta on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Retail prices for chicken frequently fluctuate sharply, while poultry\nfarmers face the opposite situation: prices are low and fall short of\nthe government\u2019s Purchase Reference Price (HAP) for producers.<\/p>\n
Bambang found this price anomaly at Medokan Sawah Market in Surabaya,\nEast Java. Traders there complained that chicken had reached Rp40,000\nper kilogram, in line with the ceiling set by the HAP for consumer\nprices.<\/p>\n
Despite the high market price, traders said their turnover had\nfallen. Poultry farmers, meanwhile, have yet to receive the price they\nwant, which would at least meet the HAP for live chickens at the\nproducer level, of around Rp25,000 per kilogram of live weight.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to the Agriculture Minister, farmers are getting only\nRp19,000. That could fall further, but the government has set the price\nat Rp19,000 so farmers do not go under. So why has the market price\nrisen to Rp40,000? This is a matter for the National Food Agency or the\nFood Task Force to investigate. This must not be allowed to happen,\u201d\nBambang said.<\/p>\n
He called on the government and law enforcement agencies to trace the\ndistribution chain all the way to factories and distributors. The\nanomalous practices must be pursued and must not be allowed to\nrecur.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, National Food Agency (Bapanas) chief and Agriculture\nMinister Andi Amran Sulaiman called for suspected price manipulation in\nthe distribution chain, including by intermediaries, to be followed up\nin coordination with law enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n
Amran said the price disparity between producers and consumers could\nnot be allowed to persist, as it risked harming both farmers and\nconsumers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is striking is inflation in eggs, chicken and rice. These three\nstand out, but it is strange that producer prices are below the HAP set\nby the government. Because prices are low, farmers are protesting. At\nthe same time, consumers are also complaining,\u201d Amran said.<\/p>\n
He said the price anomaly could be addressed through law enforcement\nand stressed the need for coordination across agencies to investigate\nand act on practices that harm farmers and consumers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese middlemen are manipulating prices. We have written to the\nNational Police Chief. We have agreed that, through collaboration, we\nmust fight this. This will not be resolved while the mafia remains\nentrenched among us. This cannot continue,\u201d Amran said.<\/p>\n
The government has also introduced upstream measures targeting\npoultry farmers, including the Food Supply and Price Stabilisation\n(SPHP) programme for feed corn.<\/p>\n
The first phase of the 2026 feed-corn SPHP programme began in early\nMay. Its total distribution quota was set at 213,200 tonnes to meet the\nfeed-corn needs of micro, small and medium-sized poultry farming\nbusinesses.<\/p>\n
As of 14 October, distribution under the first and second phases had\nreached 81.81 per cent of the combined target of 241,200 tonnes. A total\nof 197,320 tonnes had been accessed by 7,553 farmers through 151\ncooperatives in 29 provinces.<\/p>\n
The government has also demonstrated its support for the national\npoultry farming sector by adding to the feed-corn SPHP allocation. An\nadditional 150,000 tonnes is being processed by the government and will\nincrease the allocation assigned to state-owned logistics company Perum\nBulog.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/legislator-calls-for-probe-into-intermediaries-over-anomalous-chicken-prices-1792284632", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }