The Government Needs To Intervention To Control Prices And Supply Of Staples Ahead Of Ramadan And Eid

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The government must be able to maintain price stability and supply of basic necessities during the holy month of Ramadan, considering that the demand for basic goods until the Eid 1443H is certain to increase.

As stated by the Vice Chancellor of Paramadina University, Dr. Handi Risza, Friday April 1st. According to Handi, there must be intervention from the government to control prices and ensure supplies of basic necessities are available during the holy month of Ramadan.

"Don't let the government hand it back to the market mechanism," said Handi in his statement.

Furthermore, Handi conveyed, the increase in fuel prices will certainly trigger an increase in the price of goods, both directly and indirectly related to the increase in Pertamax fuel prices.

Moreover, Handi continued, this was done before entering the implementation of fasting where the demand for goods would increase.

"As has happened so far, psychologically, people always increase demand for consumption of certain basic needs, so that certain traders take advantage of this condition to increase prices. So that the inflation rate during Ramadan always increases," he said.

Handi suspected that the increase in the prices of basic necessities had occurred since the scarcity and high price of cooking oil in the market in the last few months.

"The government still has big homework to do to reorganize the CPO and cooking oil industries, lest the supply chain be controlled by cartels and mafias who have been taking advantage of the weak governance of the government so far," he said.

Handi explained that the scarcity of cooking oil was then coupled with the policy to increase the price of Pertamax fuel, if not anticipated properly, it would lead to higher price volatility.

He urged the Government to immediately anticipate the impact of the increase in Pertamax fuel prices as of April 1, 2022. "Now is the time for the government to be present to help ease the burden on society which is getting heavier, since Covid-19, the scarcity of cooking oil and now the increase in Pertamax prices," said Handi adding .