Rice Prices Skyrocket, Erick Thohir: World Food Prices Rise

Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir. (Mery Handayani/VOI)

JAKARTA - Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir revealed the reason for the increase in domestic rice prices. He said one of them was because world food prices were also increasing.

Erick said the increase in food prices also triggered the skyrocketing price of rice in the country. Even so, Erick said that this condition was not only experienced by Indonesia.

"If rice prices soar around the world, around the world food prices are indeed increasing," he said while reviewing the price of Bulog rice in modern shopping centers in the Klender area, East Jakarta, Monday, February 12.

According to Erick, one of the factors affecting rice prices is the global geopolitical conditions that are heating up.

Due to this condition, continued Erick, the government is taking steps to stabilize prices by disbursing rice stocks for market operations through the Food Supply and Price Stabilization (SPHP) program to the market.

"So this dynamic does happen. Of course the government anticipates it earlier, we flood the market again, but of course people who choose to buy rice, of course the needs of each individual," he explained.

In addition to carrying out market operations, Erick said the government also provided food assistance in the form of 10 kilograms (kg) of rice for 22 million beneficiary families (KPM).

"We will continue to run it, if there are no other countries. Even the government provides energy subsidies of up to Rp540 trillion for electricity and fuel," he said.