Amran: Food Prices Stable as Stocks Stay High and Demand Rises

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman said food prices ahead of Eid al-Fitr 1447 Hijri remained under control despite high market demand. He noted that the rise in demand was accompanied by abundant stock levels of food, keeping prices in check. ‘Stock is high. So with high stock, high demand. Therefore prices are relatively stable,’ he told reporters at the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) offices on Friday (6 March 2026). Amran acknowledged that the national average price of broiler chicken rose, but by only about 0.68 percent. ‘If it rises by 0.6 percent, be kind to the farmers a little so they can get Eid clothes,’ he added. The head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) said that several commodities have actually fallen. Capsicum (cabai rawit), red peppers (cabai merah), shallots, and garlic, whose prices had previously corrected, are now claimed to have fallen. ‘There is a decline. Yesterday the decline was in cabai rawit; cabai merah fell as well,’ Amran said. Separately, Bapanas Secretary for Policy (Sestama) Sarwo Edhy said current food stocks are in surplus. He noted that they have calculated stock levels for strategic commodities through April and projected that they will remain very sufficient, even surplus by December. ‘The food balance remains in surplus through the end of April. Likewise, if we calculate through December. For example, rice is in surplus of 17.2 million tonnes, consumer sugar 595 thousand tonnes,’ he said. The rise in food prices during Ramadan and ahead of Eid is an annual phenomenon that can be anticipated with monitoring, especially at the middleman or distributor level. Eddy cited an example: at Pasar Kosambi, Bandung, West Java, beef had been sold at Rp 160,000 per kilogram. After inspection, the price from the Slaughterhouse (RPH) was only around Rp 105,000 per kilogram.