Govt to fly in chicken eggs from Thailand and U.S.

Govt to fly in chicken eggs from Thailand and U.S.

JAKARTA (JP): Three Cabinet ministers inspected several
traditional markets in Jakarta on Saturday to investigate for
themselves the dire shortage of several basic foodstuffs,
particularly chicken eggs.

Responding to the situation, Minister of Trade and Industry
Rahardi Ramelan said the government will begin importing eggs
from Thailand and the United States as soon as next week.

"We have signed the agreements. They will be arriving by plane
starting next week," Rahardi was quoted by Antara as saying.

The agreement calls for the importation of 40 tons of eggs a
week from Thailand and between 50 and 100 tons a week from the
United States.

Rahardi said the government is also encouraging private
companies to import eggs, adding that two companies had already
shown an interest.

However, he ruled out providing subsidies or other concessions
to importers.

The price of eggs has soared to as high as Rp 8,000 a
kilogram, mainly due to a surge in demand coinciding with the
Christmas and New Year's celebrations, and the Ramadhan fasting
month. Supply, however, has been limited because many poultry
farms have gone out of business during the economic crisis.

Rahardi inspected the markets on Saturday with Coordinating
Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Ginandjar
Kartasasmita and Minister of Cooperatives Adi Sasono.

Besides checking the prices of foodstuffs, the ministers used
the occasion to reassure traders that basic foodstuffs that have
been in short supply will be replenished before Idul Fitri, the
Muslim holiday celebrating the end of the fasting month of
Ramadhan. Idul Fitri falls on Jan. 19 this year.

Rahardi said the government would continue importing eggs
until prices stabilized.

Eggs are not the only commodity whose price has risen
dramatically, as the ministers discovered during their tour.

At Kramat Jati wholesale market, the prices of vegetables have
been rising dramatically. Cucumbers were priced at Rp 2,500 a kg,
up from Rp 800 a kg a day before; potatoes were quoted at Rp
4,000 a kg, up from Rp 3,000 the previous day; and red chili was
priced as high as Rp 8,500 per kg.

Ginandjar said the government would closely monitor these
prices and, if possible, help to stabilize them.

He added, however, that prices were bound to be volatile
around this time of the year because of the various religious
holidays taking place concurrently.

Later, during a visit to the Cakung slaughter house, Ginandjar
promised to provide butchers with subsidized loans to help them
cope with soaring demand in the lead-up to Idul Fitri.

The butchers said that they needed working capital to run
their businesses, and interest rates on bank loans were
prohibitively high.

Minister Adi said that his office would allocate Rp 500
million in loans at an interest rate of 16 percent for 300 meat
traders in Cakung. The money would be available within one to two
weeks, he added.

The price of meat has soared in recent weeks, with beef
costing as much as Rp 30,000 a kg in Jakarta's markets last week.

Ginandjar said there was a large enough supply of meat, but
the butchers' lack of working capital was a problem.

The government is importing 68,000 heads of cattle from
Australia to ensure that supply meets demand during the Christmas
and Idul Fitri holidays.