Free Nutritious Meal Programme Resumes, Vegetable and Chicken Prices Rise

Prices of vegetables, kitchen spices, and chicken cuts in Purwakarta Regency, West Java, have experienced an increase. The rise comes after the Free Nutritious Meal Programme (MBG) resumed following the school holidays.

Based on monitoring at Rebo Market in Purwakarta, the highest price surge occurred for cucumbers. The commodity’s price more than doubled, from Rp8,000 to Rp18,000 per kilogram.

In addition to cucumbers, the price of green beans increased from Rp16,000 to Rp24,000 per kilogram. Potatoes rose from Rp14,000 to Rp18,000 per kilogram, while cabbage experienced an increase from Rp8,000 to Rp12,000 per kilogram. Several other vegetable commodities also began to creep up, although not as high as these four items.

Nita Rahmawati, a shopper at Pasar Rebo, admitted that almost all kitchen necessities had increased in price simultaneously, from vegetables to kitchen spices. “Almost all types of vegetables have gone up. They say it’s because of the MBG. When the MBG is running, prices go up,” she said on Tuesday (21/7).

Although she objected to the price increases, she said she still had to buy her kitchen necessities as they are used for her food business.

Similarly, vegetable trader Rosadi said the price increase began to be felt after the provision of food for the MBG Programme resumed following the school holidays. He added that besides the increase in demand, the dry season also affected supply from production centres, further pushing prices up.

As a result of the price increases, consumer purchasing power has begun to be affected. A number of customers have chosen to reduce their purchase quantities compared to previous days.

Not only vegetable commodities, the price of chicken cuts has also increased. After previously dropping to the range of Rp25,000 to Rp28,000 per kilogram when MBG activities were reduced during the school holidays, the price of chicken has now reached Rp38,000 again.