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.