Alami Deflation Rice In April 2024 After 8 Months Of Inflation

Rice prices (photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) noted that rice commodities deflated in April 2024 by 2.72 percent month-to-month (mtm). This after experiencing eight consecutive months of inflation since August 2023.

"This is in line with the increase in rice production so that the impact of rice inflation rate continues to decline until it experiences deflation of 2.72 percent in April 2024 and contributes to deflation by 0.12 percent," said Plt. Head of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti quoted Antara.

He said that the deflation occurred in 28 provinces. Meanwhile, rice prices tend to be stable in one province and experience inflation in nine other provinces.

The nine provinces are East Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, Riau Islands, North Maluku, Papua, West Papua, Southwest Papua, and Riau.

According to him, this happens because of different consumption patterns, planting times, and harvest times in one area with another.

"This causes the demand structure and supply of rice between regions to vary, although nationally there is a harvest season, not all areas have experienced a decline in rice prices," said Amalia.

He said that the preference for local rice also affected the formation of rice prices in the market. For example, Solok rice varieties which are the main consumption of the people of Riau or Siam rice varieties consumed by the people of Kalimantan tend to have inelastic price characteristics.

"A rice supply from outside the region during the harvest period like now is not immediately able to reduce the price of local rice if local rice production has not increased," he said.

BPS noted that monthly inflation in April 2024 reached 0.25 percent mtm with an annual inflation rate of 3 percent year-on-year (yoy) and calendar year inflation of 1.19 percent year-to-date (ytd).