Consumer body urges control of food prices
Consumer body urges control of food prices
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) has criticized the city administration for failing to effectively preempt rising prices of food staples and other goods ahead of the Christmas and New Year's celebrations.
Zoemrotin K. Soesilo, YLKI chairwoman, told The Jakarta Post yesterday that rice, sugar, meat, flour, oil and salted fish are among nine food staples the prices of which should have been better controlled by the administration.
"The government should have anticipated the price increase, which happens prior to annual festivities like Idul Fitri, Christmas and New Year," she said.
The city economic bureau announced yesterday that the second week of this month had seen city food prices rising in response to increasing demand.
The bureau reported that the price of rice was 5 percent higher than in the previous week. The price of the popular Cisadane variety of rice increased from Rp 1,062 per kilogram to Rp 1,125, the bureau said.
The price of sugar was 1.5 percent higher at Rp 1,500 per kg, up from Rp 1,477 per kg; while salted fish was 16 percent higher than in the previous week, having risen from Rp 3,555 to Rp 4,137 per kg.
The bureau reported that, due to the Christmas and year's end holidays, the demand for meat, chicken, eggs, vegetables and fruit had increased by between 10 and 30 percent.
Demand for meat was up by 15 percent, from 100 tons to 115 tons per day, with the price of beef currently Rp 7,750 per kg, or 3 percent higher than in the first week of this month.
Demand for chicken and eggs was 30 percent higher than usual, up 25 percent from 300 tons to 400 tons per day. The price of chicken was reported as Rp 4,359 per kg, a rise of Rp 132. Egg prices were said to be Rp 2,300 per kg, as compared with Rp 2,293 per kg previously.
City officials say they have conducted market operations to deal with the increases in food prices.
However, Zoemrotin said such operations would not help control prices. "What can the officials do after the price hikes have already happened?" she asked.
The economic bureau also reported that during this month the demand for vegetables is 10 percent higher than usual, having risen from 1,500 tons to 1,650 tons per day. The demand for red onions was reported as 20 percent higher than usual, up from a 97 tons to 117 tons daily.
The price of tomatoes increased 36 percent from Rp 2,043 per kg to Rp 2,786, while the price of red onions is now 16 percent higher, having increased from Rp 3,343 per kg to Rp 3,904.
Demand for vegetables has increased by 20 percent, from 400 tons to 480 tons per day.
The report was based on routine observation of prices in eight markets in the city: Tanah Abang, Jembatan Lima, Jatinegara, Senen, Grogol, Kebayoran Lama, Tanjung Barat and Anyer Bahari.
The bureau reported that, since Dec. 20, the prices of rice, oil and sugar have also increased.
According to the bureau, 90 percent of the food sold in Jakarta are supplied from outside the municipal boundaries; principally from West and Central Java. It said that heavy rains had caused production to fall and had also hampered distribution.
The city administration said that, to anticipate the high demand during this year's Christmas and year's end holidays, as well as the Idul Fitri next year, it has ordered the transport from other regions.
The provinces from which food is to be brought in to the capital are North Sumatra (the Deli Serdang, Karo, Simalungun and Binjai regencies), East Java (the Probolinggo, Pasuruan and Malang regencies) and Bali (the Karangasem, Tabanan regencies and Denpasar townships).(yns)