The inflation threat

The inflation threat

On Wednesday, Minister of Information Harmoko announced the rate of inflation for the month of April to be 1.69 percent. Thus, the rate for the first four months of the current calendar year is 4.73 percent. According to information minister Harmoko, this high rate of inflation was caused by shifts in the general commodities category. Housing saw an increase of 2.31 percent, food 1.34 percent and multifarious goods and services 1.68 percent.

Controlling inflation takes great care. The well-being of the majority of the people must be considered. In the case of April, for instance, the Central Bureau of Statistics said the price of rice declined in a number of regions of Indonesia. On the other hand, cooking oil and refined sugar prices pushed the inflation rate up.

Cooking oil and sugar are produced by big businesses. The raw material is supplied by farmers, but only big farmers and capital-strong businesses -- whose numbers are limited -- enjoy the value added from these two commodities.

The situation is worse if the price of other goods and commodities also increases. Cement, for example. We therefore hope that inflation suppressing policies will include not only efforts to control farm products, but also other commodities such as cement and sugar.

-- Republika, Jakarta