Academic: Food supply stability key to fair prices
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Imamudin Yuliadi, Professor of Economics at Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY), believes that the stability of food supplies and smooth distribution are key to keeping food prices reasonable within a healthy and sustainable market mechanism.
“We need to maintain the stability of goods supply and smooth the food distribution chain so that the market mechanism can form prices at reasonable levels,” said Imamudin in a statement in Jakarta on Friday.
According to him, the increase in food demand following the resumption of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme after the 2026 school break is a normal market phenomenon.
He said that as long as the increase in demand takes place within a healthy market mechanism, the condition is actually a good thing for farmers, ranchers, fishermen and food SMEs.
Imamudin said the rise in food demand caused by the MBG programme resuming operations is a form of economic dynamism that commonly occurs.
“The surge in food demand for MBG is a positive signal for economic actors, especially farmers and ranchers, because it has the potential to increase their incomes,” said Imamudin.
In his view, as long as the interaction between supply and demand proceeds normally, slightly higher prices actually provide an incentive for producers to increase production.
On the other hand, he said, the impact on consumers remains tolerable as long as the increase stays within reasonable limits and is not triggered by distribution disruptions or speculative practices.
Imamudin believes the government has an important role in keeping the market mechanism healthy. The government’s main focus should not be excessive price control, but ensuring food supplies remain available and distribution runs smoothly.
In addition, attention to the production sector is considered equally important. It is necessary to ensure the availability of fertiliser at affordable prices so that the benefits of rising prices are genuinely felt by farmers.
He added that similar policies should also be extended to other economic actors such as fishermen and SMEs so that the multiplier effect of the MBG programme can be felt more widely.
“The increase in food demand caused by MBG should be used as momentum to strengthen the foundations of the regional economy,” he asserted.
According to him, this can be achieved through improved production efficiency, cutting irrational distribution chains, and strengthening the market structure so it becomes healthier and more competitive.
In this way, he said, the MBG programme will not only function as a nutrition programme for schoolchildren, but also become a driver of the local economy whilst creating new jobs.
“Production efficiency must be improved, irrational distribution channels cut, and the market structure strengthened so that a productive regional economic ecosystem is created whilst generating new employment opportunities,” he explained.
He further said the MBG programme can become an economic instrument that drives the people’s economy across Indonesia, provided it has transparent, accountable and reliable governance.
“Food preparation must be carried out comprehensively from upstream to downstream so that it can strengthen the agricultural economy and the food processing industry,” he said.
Ultimately, Imamudin added, children’s nutritional quality improves, people become healthier, the people’s economy grows in a balanced way, and the Indonesian economy continues to grow.