Grocers told not ot raise food prices ahead of polls

Grocers told not ot raise food prices ahead of polls

JAKARTA (JP): In a bid to avoid public anxiety, the government
has asked the country's grocers not to raise the prices of food
staples and other commodities.

Teddy Setiadi, the director general of trade at the Ministry
of Industry and Trade, said in a statement over the weekend that
all officials in the ministry's provincial offices have been
instructed to oversee the sale of food staples in the market to
prevent undue price increases.

Teddy said he was serious about maintaining the price
stability of staple foods.

The trade official's statement followed reports of unusually
high demand for basic staples within the last two weeks.
According to newspaper reports, many people have started to hoard
their daily necessities out of fear that there will be riots
ahead of, during and after the June general election.

The security situation could deteriorate when 48 political
parties start their campaigns on May 19. If there are any
perceived violations of election regulations, it could spark
bloody riots similar to those in May last year, during which
hundreds of stores were burned or looted.

The distribution of food staples and other basic commodities
was totally paralyzed during the three-day riots.

The trade official, however, said that prices of rice, sugar,
flour, palm oil, meat, milk, butter and instant noodles at
grocery stores in the five districts of Jakarta have remained
stable.

The average prices of canned and powdered milk also remained
stable at Rp 4,112 (about 50 U.S. cents) per can and Rp 12,060
per 400 grams. (udi)