Minister Zuklifli Hasan Must Have An Explanation And Answer Why The Price Of Eggs And Chicken Meat Soared

Photo by Jakub Kapusnak on Unsplash

JAKARTA - Commission IV of the DPR asked for an explanation from the Minister of Trade (Mendag) Zuklifli Hasan, after the soaring price of eggs and chicken meat in the last two weeks. Supposedly, price increases can be anticipated with a focus on the strategy from upstream to downstream.

"Regarding the high price of eggs and chicken meat, the Trade Minister must provide an explanation and take immediate action," said member of Commission IV DPR RI, Daniel Johan, Tuesday, May 23.

Based on data from the Indonesian Market Traders Association, the price of eggs in Jabodetabek is in the range of Rp. 31 thousand to Rp. 34 thousand per kilogram. Outside Java or the eastern region, eggs reach a price of Rp. 38 thousand per kilogram and even more than Rp. 40 thousand per kilogram.

As for the price of broiler chicken, it has reached Rp. 40,000 in the Jabodetabek area. Then outside Java, the highest market price reached Rp. 44 thousand to Rp. 48 thousand. Daniel said there should be anticipation from the Government so that the price of eggs and chicken meat does not skyrocket.

"A number of anticipatory strategies should be carried out to maintain the stability and balance of egg prices at the farmer, trader and consumer levels," he said.

"The traders complained because the profit margin was getting thinner at that high price. This is also our concern in the DPR. In the future, the Government must get around it so that supply and demand are stable so that prices do not continue to creep up," continued Daniel.

Legislators from the West Kalimantan I electoral district estimate that there are two main factors that cause the price of eggs and chicken meat to increase dramatically in the last two weeks. Namely, said Daniel, production and distribution factors.

"The production factor is the cause of price increases upstream. Farmers often have difficulty getting proper feed for their livestock," he said.

According to Daniel, the Government needs to develop an anticipatory policy that supports chicken and egg farming in a sustainable manner.

"This includes providing incentives and assistance to farmers in terms of procuring quality feed, efficient technology, and good management. So that inflation can be suppressed," explained Daniel.

The price of chicken feed is currently in the range of Rp. 8,500 per kilogram to Rp. 8,700 per kilogram. The high price of chicken feed is a reflection of the price of eggs and chicken meat which has increased.

It is known, chicken feed is made from raw materials for corn, concentrate and bekatul. Domestic corn production, according to Daniel, has not been able to meet the needs of raw materials for animal feed so that animal feed producers still depend on imports of corn from abroad.

"The high price of animal feed affects the price of chicken and eggs in the market. This increase has caused heavy burdens for farmers, so that the cost of goods sold (HPP) has also increased," he said.

The second factor that keeps the price of eggs and chicken meat skyrocketing is the distribution issue. Currently, the cause of the downstream problem is the lack of attention from the Regional Government which has an obligation to bear the transportation costs of distribution from farmers to markets.

"The Ministry of Home Affairs has given the green light to the Regional Government to allocate funds for transportation costs for commodities that have increased by 5 percent. We in the DPR will oversee its implementation in the field," said Daniel.

In addition, the cause of the increase in egg and chicken meat prices is because many distributions are carried out outside the market. Thus, availability in the market becomes scarce and prices increase.

Daniel also encouraged strict legal supervision and application of monopolistic practices, cartels, and business practices that harm consumers to become the government's priority.

"Effective handling must be done to prevent scarcity and unreasonable price increases," he said.

Furthermore, Daniel highlighted the Food Task Force (Satgas) which seemed late in handling food prices. Given, the National Police and a number of ministries formed the Task Force to supervise food prices in markets.

"Food Task Force must go to the markets more often to monitor prices. If there is inflation, the root of the problem must be sought immediately. Don't wait for food commodities to rise and then go to the market," said Daniel.

On the other hand, the member of the House of Representatives Commission in charge of agricultural / livestock and food affairs also asked the Government to really examine in-depth the plan to import 2 million tons of rice. Daniel hopes that the plan will not have an impact on the condition of farmers who are currently entering the main harvest period.

"Don't let rice imports damage the price of farmers' rice, what about the food estate program which should have an impact on the welfare of farmers. This food estate has a positive goal in supporting national food security, especially in the midst of threats and food crises," he explained.

The rice import plan is said to need to be carried out to deal with the phenomenon of prolonged hot weather (El Nino), because this condition causes drought that can suppress food production, including rice. The government claims rice imports will not interfere with farmers' grain prices and will become government rice reserves (CBP) managed by Bulog amid the threat of El Nino.

Even so, Daniel asked the Government to update CBP data after the main harvest. This aims to ensure whether the rice import program is in accordance with the needs of the community.

"The thing that the government must pay attention to is the data. Don't let the government import during the main harvest. That is bad news and will disturb the enthusiasm of farmers. Check domestic production first, is importing foodstuffs such as rice right to deal with El Nino?" closed Daniel.