Academic: Food supply stability key to fair prices

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Guru Besar Ilmu Ekonomi Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) Imamudin Yuliadi has stated that stable food supply and smooth distribution are key to ensuring fair prices within a healthy and sustainable market mechanism. “It is necessary to maintain the stability of goods supply and facilitate the food distribution chain so that the market mechanism can form prices fairly,” Imamudin said in a statement in Jakarta on Friday. According to him, the increase in food demand following the resumption of the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme after the school holidays is a normal market phenomenon. He noted that as long as the increase in demand occurs within a healthy market mechanism, this condition is actually beneficial for farmers, livestock breeders, fishermen, and food MSME players. Imamudin stated that the rise in food demand due to the MBG programme’s operations is a common form of economic dynamic. “The demand push for food for the MBG programme is a positive signal for economic actors, especially farmers and livestock breeders, because it has the potential to increase their income,” Imamudin said. According to him, as long as the interaction between demand and supply proceeds normally, a slightly higher price actually provides an incentive for producers to increase production. On the other hand, he said, the impact on consumers is still tolerable if the increase occurs within reasonable limits and is not triggered by distribution disruptions or speculative practices. Imamudin assessed that the government has an important role in ensuring the market mechanism remains healthy. The government’s main focus should not be excessive price control, but rather ensuring food supply availability and smooth distribution. In addition, attention to the production sector is considered no less important. It is necessary to ensure the availability of fertiliser at affordable prices so that the benefits of price increases can truly be felt by farmers. He added that similar policies should also be extended to other economic actors such as fishermen and MSMEs so that the multiplier effect of the MBG programme can be felt more widely. “The increased food demand due to MBG should be utilised as momentum to strengthen the foundation of regional economies,” he stressed. According to him, this effort can be achieved through increasing production efficiency, cutting irrational distribution chains, and strengthening market structures to be healthier and more competitive. In this way, he said, the MBG programme not only functions as a nutritional fulfilment programme for schoolchildren but also becomes a driving force for local economies while opening new job opportunities. “Production efficiency must be increased, irrational distribution channels must be cut, and market structures must be strengthened so that a productive regional economic ecosystem is created while generating new employment opportunities,” he explained. Furthermore, he stated that the MBG programme can become an economic instrument that drives the people’s economy throughout 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, society becomes healthier, the people’s economy grows in a balanced manner, and the Indonesian economy grows further.